Friday, September 25, 2009

PROBLEM PROPERTIES - SEPTEMBER 2009

East Toledo/Raymer Neighborhood Area - Problem Properties Sept. 2009

1401 GREENWOOD - TRASH, NOISE, PARTIES W/JUVENILES, DRUGS, VANDALISM TO NEIGHBOR'S HOMES, CRIMINAL DAMAGING, garbage in front of the building at all times and in the street, residents put basketball hoop on neighbor's property, fireworks, bonfire smoke buns into neighbor's bedroom window, LOUD, disrespectful residents, constant loud cursing and rap music and bass, intermittent drug dealing at all hours, RESIDENTS SMOKE POT RIGHT ON FRONT STEPS CONSTANTLY!! Ashley Ortiz and boyfriend allow dog to run freely throughout neighborhood, chase children and has bitten 2 small children,(has been picked up and gotten out of dog pound at least twice, and last time got PARVO and allowed dog to get into my yard and could have infected my little dog!) Her boyfriend was heard saying to approx 3 year old little girl/daughter with a broken leg in a cast!!, "Get out of the street you stupid little bitch!" NEIGHBORHOOD HEADACHE TO ALL NEIGHBORS ON WHITE RAYMER AND GREENWOOD!!! POLICE ARE WELL AWARE OF THESE PROBLEM NEIGHBORS AN YET THE PROBLEMS STILL EXIST DAILY!


1414 STARR AVE. - VACANT - grass tall since August - trash constantly in yard

703 PARKER ST. - Privacy fence falling down on Idaho St. side, yard full of trash, windows broken on side and in front, LANDLORD ONLY MOWS EVERY 2-3 WEEKS OR SO - SLUMLORD!

1325 NEVADA ST - (corner of White - aka: I75 GATEWAY INTO EAST TOLEDO, MARINA DISTRICT AND BRAND NEW RAYMER SCHOOL! - still VACANT - 3 years and counting;
Still boarded up but all boards open, off and broken; still being PLAYED IN BY NEIGHBOR CHILDREN, Boards not repaired yet. Neighbor children breaking all inside up with Cement blocks while children's parents sit on the porch next door to it, on White Street and watch them do it! (Yes I have called 911. Had reported it was going on while I was at 7-11 to POLICE ANOTHER TIME - they DID NOTHING!) DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM NEWLY OPENED RAYMER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - STILL A STRONG DANGER TO VERY SMALL CHILDREN WALKING TO AND FROM SCHOOL!!

1425 NEVADA ST. - weeds

1601 NEVADA ST. - grass, weeds, garbage

1620 NEVADA ST. - (corner) Vacant - - grass and weeds, GRAFFITI ON PRIVACY FENCE IN BACK AND ON SPRING GROVE SIDE

1421 NAVARRE AVE. - grass, garbage/trash (from of 9-4-09 to 9-18-09 & still on list)

1501 NAVARRE at corner of Raymer -

1527 NAVARRE AVE. (at corner of Valleywood) - Grass and weeds - front only

1601 NAVARRE AVE. - grass and weeds

1624 HURD ST. - side and in front - trash/garbage

720 VALLEYWOOD - grass and weeds

614 - 616 RAYMER APARTMENT HOUSE - grass, trash, toys and garbage constantly all over sidewalk, blocks paralyzed wheelchair bound man from passing - for the past month - garbage piled up on side of building.

648 RAYMER - grass,weeds

ALLEY FROM 610 SPRING GROVE THROUGH TO VALLEYWOOD - BEHIND 1600 (1616 & 1618 THE WORST) BLOCK OF NEVADA - HAS BEEN ON LIST ALL SUMMER!! OVERGROWTH, GRAFFITI, WEEDS, TRASH, MICE,! ALL LONG ALLEY!




AND LAST BUT certainly not least, the piece of shit that continues to stand (behind my garage and has been vacant for almost 3 years) at 1520 Greenwood, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TORN DOWN THIS YEAR BUT NOW IS GOING TO SIT HERE ANOTHER ENTIRE YEAR, AND CAUSE MICE AND AN EMBARRASSMENT FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, ESPECIALLY ME, UNTIL SUPPOSEDLY, NEXT SUMMER. IT IS CURRENTLY OWNED BY Neighborhood Housing Services on Second Street in East Toledo.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VACANT ONLY HOUSE LISTINGS (no other complaints)

VACANT HOUSE BETWEEN 1501 and 1509 Navarre (no address on house) is either 1503 or 1505 I suppose

1506 Nevada St.

1510 Nevada St.

1520 Nevada St.

715 Valleywood

717 Valleywood

618 Valleywood

640 Valleywood

645 Valleywood

645 Valleywood

663 Valleywood

715 Valleywood

717 Valleywood

720 Valleywood

6112 Hurd St.

1710 Hurd St.

1612 Idaho St.

625 Raymer St.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CITY DATA FOR EAST TOLEDO according to AOL Real Estate at:
http://realestate.aol.com/ldp.jsp?pid=43605&totalCount=1&seotype=neighbor&t=2&set=1&loc=43605&seo=1&ptype=srp&zip=43605&name=Toledo

43605 Toledo Neighborhood in Toledo, OH
Quality of life
Cost of Living Index 76.9
Commute Time (min) 22.3
Health Cost Index 91.7
Air Quality Index 18.0
Water Quality Index 20.0
Crime Index 7.0
Avg. Jan. Low Temp 16.1
Avg. July High Temp 84.0
Precipitation Days 133.0
Sunny Days 180.0
Rainfall (in.) 32.5
Snowfall (in.) 37.5

Community Summary
Zip Code 43605
City Toledo
County 39095
State OH
Current Population 28,388
Population Density 3261.8
Population Change -11%
Housing
Owners 51%
Renters 37%
Vacancies 13%
Median Housing Age 72.0
Median Housing Value $48,900
House Appreciation
(last 12 months) -0.6

Demographics & Households
Median Age 31.7
Male 49%
Female 51%
Married 39%
White 78%
Black 10%
American Indian 1%
Asian/pacific Islander 0%
Hispanic 15%
Other Race 10%
Number of Households 10,614
Median Household Size 2.6
Income & Employment
Median Household Income $30,945
Income Per Capita $14,295
Recent Job Growth
(past 12 months) -1%
Future Job Growth
(next 10 years) 19%
Unemployment Rate 8%
Education
H.S. Degree 71%
2 Year Degree 5%
4 Year Degree 4%
Graduate Degrees 2%

Saturday, September 5, 2009

How the East Side, in my neighborhood anyway, is changing..and NOT for the better!

It is my observation that my neighborhood is going down-hill, quickly. I pray to God that it is temporarily but I doubt it. Oh, sure, I could just be feeling negative, but I just had my first attempted break-in, in 4 years, just the other night. I bungee cord all of my gates to my fenced-in yard day & night, and also purposely leave them squeaky, so that my dog and I can both hear when someone comes through the fence gate. At 2:00 am on a Sunday night/Monday morning, "they" took the time to take off the bungee cord, strategically placed near the lower part of the gate, making it difficult to reach, s-l-o-w-l-y opened the gate, and opened the screen near the back of my home where it is clearly lit up, then attempted to open the window that had my membership sticker to the NRA (National Rifle Association)and my security system sticker on it!! These are some ballsy kids. And, yes, I would be willing to bet that it IS "kids".

In the past 9 years since I've moved here, I have, more so since they took down the basketball net at Prentice Park, seen this neighborhood change from a quiet area with virtually no kids, to one that all night long, there are narcissistic teens walking down the middle of the street, with their "mo fo" this and "mo fo" that, being loud and out at all hours after curfew. The kids that live in our neighborhood are respectful and friendly, but the "outsiders" disrespectful, rude and in my opinion, pigs. And YES, I DO call the police on them nearly every time for curfew violation, but police rarely ever show up in time to catch them quickly enough. During the day, for example, some of them purposely walk by, recently right in front of my face while i was chatting with a friend getting into her car, pulling off leaves from my newly planted baby trees, and throwing down pop cans and garbage. When I say something to them, they usually laugh at me or ignore me altogether.

We have new a new East Side gang, spray painting graffiti on the vacant building on both sides of me, the stop sign and vacant door of a neighbor's house across the street, twice this Summer already. Nine years ago? NEVER. NEVER DID WE HAVE THESE GAGGLES OF TEENS WALKING PAST, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, many heading down to Burnett Park to play basketball or to loiter illegally there after dark, & basically BEING DISRESPECTFUL.

There were also homeowners ACTUALLY LIVING in their homes on every side of me, up until last year..The last home owner near me moved out last week, and is allowing his grown children (one recently released from prison and a known thief) live in his house...people in and out all day and night. The homes on all sides of me are now rentals, with people living there and "stiffing" the owners for one or two months rent every few months. They don't cut their grass regularly, there is always trash out way before the pick-up day, and crap in the yard, and rarely do these newer renters says hello to anyone, and God-forbid any of them ever attend a neighborhood Blockwatch meeting. Some have relatives over that play rap music very loudly and sing the obscene lyrics to young teenage girls that are walking by, often, "showing off" themselves as well.

Nine years of blessings, gratefulness and a constant battle to help make my neighborhood a nicer place to live.

Now I am begging the homeowners not to rent to "undesirables" so that I can sell possibly my own home next Spring, and get out before it's too late to sell at all..Will I get a buyer? Have any of the homes for sale in the last three years been sold? No way. They are all still vacant with the same for sale signs in front. Not due completely to the state of the economy, but also due to the neighbors who now disrespect other neighbors, who don't care about calling the police for violations to the law because they don't care, who walk their dogs and allow them to defecate in neighbors yards with no bag to pick it up, and when offered one, they just walk away and pretend they didn't hear you ask them if they wanted one. Neighbors who don't want to get involved by calling police for illegal occurrences or don't have time to wait an hour for the law to get here. Neighbors who won't bother to look out their windows when a gang of kids starts partying at a vacant house, who don't care enough to watch out for other's homes or inform neighbors if someone strange was lurking around...Rarely does anyone new say hello to anyone BY NAME (oh sure there are waves hello now and then, but rarely anything more) or invite each other over for a bar-b-que or to sit on the porch and chat, like it was before...no one even says Happy New Year at midnight out their doors, just me, and maybe a gun shot or two!

I had just gotten to know everyone's names, and felt comfortable AND SAFE here, a few years ago, now all the people I had come to know have moved. I was just too slow. Now I'll never get back what I owe on my house. And if the homeowners keep allowing "low-life" families and individuals to move into their homes, due to discrimination laws, I could be stuck here for years to come, despite the brand new school that was just built. I haven't seen it make any difference whatsoever yet. My beautiful yard, that I fenced in the year after I moved here with every penny of home equity that I could muster, the investment of all my free time, landscaping it and keeping the weeds to a minimum, all down the drain.

I'll probably have to sell my lovely little ranch home to the first person who comes up with the money that I must ask for to cover what I owe, and the tax value on my home has gone down by $15,000 in 6 short years. Who knows, it could be be another "undesirable" that ends up moving into my home!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

NUISANCE PROPERTIES in my Neighborhood 8-8 thru 8-16-09

NUISANCE PROPERTIES in my Neighborhood, for the week of August 8 - Aug 16, 2009


1403 Navarre Ave. - (Corner of White and Navarre...(@GATEWAY into East Toledo from Route 2) - has been sighted/fined before, cleaned up a little, but still junk and car repair in driveway on White St. side, tall weeds along fence and on other side of home, front porch full of junk, steps repaired messily, looks terrible

Owner : RUSSELL JAMES E & MARIA S
Address : 1403 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : JAMES E & MARIA S RUSSELL
1403 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605


1425 Navarre Ave. - tall weeds in front


1527 Navarre Ave.- many weeds


1601 Navarre Ave. -(corner of Valleywood) - Garbage has been stacked up by tree for a month, weeds, trash in yard (I have 5 photos of this)


Owner : WERN JOHN R & MARCIE J
Address : 1601 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : JOHN R & MARCIE J WERN
607 FEDERAL
TOLEDO OH 43605


1611 Navarre Ave. - tall weeds in front
Owner : SCHWANDT RAYMOND RICHARD
Address : 1611 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : RAYMOND RICHARD SCHWANDT
503 EUCLID
TOLEDO OH 43605


1615 Navarre Ave. - tall weeds in front
Owner : COUSINO KELLI R
Address : 1615 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : KELLI R COUSINO
1615 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605


1705 Navarre Ave. - Tall grass, weeds, and trash
Owner : JOHNSON GREGORY & AMY R
Address : 1705 NAVARRE AVE
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : GREGORY & AMY R JOHNSON
3260 CROMWELL
OREGON OH 43616


642 White St. - which is now empty lot from house demolished and empty lot across street where house was demolished as well - 8 feet tall weeds at 642 lot, glass, never leveled out, lot across street, neighbors have seen mice coming out of it, weeds and also needs leveled and burnt tree trimmed
Owner : GOLDIN INNA *
Address : 642 WHITE ST
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address: INNA GOLDIN
4628 FRAMINGHAM DR
SYLVANIA OH 43560


415 Raymer Blvd. - (next to Sports Center Bowling Alley driveway) -
tall weeds, tall grass, trash in back yard (leftovers from tenant that moved 2 months ago) - danger to children & pets - part of fence down - vacant rental property
Owner : BLACKMAN CLIFFORD *
Address : 415 RAYMER BLVD
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : CLIFFORD BLACKMAN
605 EVESHAM
TOLEDO OH 43607


419 Raymer Blvd. - weeds in front, home needs work: junky - vacant rental property. back yard fence broken and yard has junk in it
wner : BROWN BARK II L.P. *
Address : 419 RAYMER BLVD
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : BROWN BARK II L.P. C/O VENTURES INC
P.O. BOX 1068
STAFFORD TX 77497


THE ALLEY (and about 3 of the BACK YARDS OF PROPERTIES THAT SIT ON NEVADA, and one of them is being rented my so-called Blockwatch Co-Leader an her husband!! (she does nothing to help)) BETWEEN VALLEYWOOD & SPRING GROVE are/is A MESS, and a danger to children. Tall weeds, grass never been mowed, wood, glass, graffiti, old broken/full garbage bags, vermin, etc. NEEDS CITY ATTENTION BADLY. (Wish we still had NIFTI..) Obvious that neighbors do not care.


1506 Nevada - driveway and yard, tall grass and weeds. Broken/full garbage bags in front that garbage men will not take until they are RE-BAGGED.
Owner : NELSON ERNEST J III
Address : 1506 NEVADA ST
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address: ERNEST J NELSON III
5547 WOODVILLE
NORTHWOOD OH 43619


1510 Nevada - high grass and weeds
Owner : SHOOK MARLENE J
Address : 1510 NEVADA ST
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : MARLENE J SHOOK
6734 SANTO LN
MAUMEE OH 43537


1620 Nevada - (corner of Spring Grove and Nevada) - vacant home, owner has worked on it but still a mess, especially in back. He hired homeless people to work on it for one day...(I talked to them - one was pretty liquored up..) Along corner 4 foot tall weeds need cut/pulled out. Broken fence around back yard that is Full of mice, garbage, very tall weeds and grass. Sidewalk along fence is full of glass and tall grass and weeds and trash. I CLEANED THIS SIDEWALK UP MYSELF A MONTH AGO. The rest is still there. It was worse.(I have 6 pictures of this property)
Owner : HERRICK DAVID R & DONNA K *
Address : 1620 NEVADA ST
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : DAVID R & DONNA K HERRICK
23195 GLENDORA DR
GRAND TERRACE CA 92313


1724 Gill St. (end of street dead ends into Belt St.) - VERY TALL AND THICK weeds, mice, stray cats - A LOT
Owner : ENGEL RONALD SR & SHARON L
Address: 1724 GILL ST
TOLEDO OH 43605
Mailing Address : RONALD SR & SHARON L ENGEL
PO BOX 406
NEAPOLIS OH 43547


JUST TRYING TO KEEP THE ENVIRONMENT I LIVE IN A LITTLE NICER. ...It's nothing PERSONAL! or is it? I'M OFFENDED BY IT! I'm sure some of their neighbors are too...

Have a great day!
TTR

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Jason Webber, former Editor of the Toledo CITY PAPER, Inspired me to write in MY OWN BLOG

I edited my header, and added the link to my favorite bar. I think that's pretty good for not being here since July 1st. I SHALL RETURN.
It's 4:46 am and I still haven't been to bed.

INSOMNIA SUCKS.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

TTown Trippin'! by TTownRobin


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

JULY IN TOLEDO, OHIO has arrived once again!



I'm back!


It's been a very long time since I've posted, so I'm going to start out brief.
Happy 4th of July to everyone.
'Hope to see you at International Park in East Toledo (I usually stand near the Gazebo or between there and the water near the trees..)for the fireworks.
Due to the economy, we almost lost them, so take advantage of this opportunity! TOLEDO'S FIREWORKS ARE AWESOME, however brief: usually about a half an hour. If you've read this, look for me, TTownRobin, and say hello, okay?
Take care. I'll be back soon I hope, God willing.
RIP Michael Jackson xoxo

HAPPY 75th BIRTHDAY JAMIE FARR!!
NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK IN TOWN!!xoxo

Friday, June 19, 2009

Final day on the job for some city workers - WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 |

Final day on the job for some city workers - WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 |

Shared via AddThis

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Toledo Speaks Out: Toledo Headlines...All American City finalist? Must be an April Fools Day Joke.

THIS GUY HAS NO IDEA WHAT TOLEDO HAS TO OFFER! Toledo Speaks Out: Toledo Headlines...All American City finalist? Must be an April Fools Day Joke.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

BE SURE TO START WATCHING "BRIDGES' hosted by Doni Miller on ABC, local Channel 13 WTVG

ANOTHER Toledo, Ohio BLOGGER BLOG, "Random Thoughts" is where part of this post is from, which reminded me to publish a reminder to all of you to please watch "BRIDGES' with Doni Miller, which airs on ABC, local Channel 13, at noon and again at midnight, I believe. .

If you get sick of politics, and bored with the repetitiveness of the nightly news, at least watch this beneficial program, which highlights local issues, not just for minorities, but for all Toledo residents. I have found it to be quite beneficial on many occasions.

Most recently last week when she had Rep. Marcy Kaptur on as her guest, and they gave out Ms. Kaptur's local Government Center Office telephone number as well as information regarding foreclosures and how to keep your house. Ms. Kaptur's office assistants can give you telephone numbers where you get straight to the person you need to speak to at your own particular mortgage company (they mentioned Countrywide as being one of the problem ones..) & regarding how to prevent the foreclosure of your home. I am going to go try her number again, right now, myself. I need help with my own!

Here is part of the "Random Thoughts" blog which mentions "BRIDGES":
THANK YOU...

"13 ABC Bridges Program"
Although I am a news junkie, I'm totally unfamiliar with this program, but I happened to catch it today and it was quite interesting.

Today it was hosted by a woman by the name of Doni Miller.
....

Anyway, I just thought I'd touch base about this show. I'm sure that it's not always about TPS, but you can be assured that I will be tuning into this show weekly! It airs on 13 ABC at 12 noon. Check it out if you can!
Thanks for reading


AND THANK YOU FOR PUBLISHING YOUR REMINDER REGARDING TOLEDO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TO REMIND ME TO REMIND THEM TO WATCH "BRIDGES!" I have included the link to your Blog at the top of this post.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

UPDATE FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2008: Just so ya know...

UPDATE FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2008: Just so ya know...

August 29, 2008 - August 31, 2008
RiverFest & Fireworks (CANCELLED)
Promenade Park, Toledo

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY.
I'm as bummed and disappointed as you are.

I went swimming in Arena Loboschefski's built-in pool today with Fat Tom and his girl Nadine. I HAD FUN !! FINALLY!! THANK YOU!!
Maybe tomorrow too!

Friday, July 4, 2008

FYI!! BO BICE & TED NUGENT to be at the RIB-OFF August 8th 2008!

JUST SO YA KNOW:

94.5 'XKR Presents Ted Nugent at The 25th Northwest Ohio Riboff!

Make sure to join us for some ribs and Rock 'N Roll with Uncle Ted
at The Lucas County Fairgrounds on Friday, August 8th!


Tickets on sale NOW at Andersons, Stranahan Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations!

General Admission $7

and Gold Circle VIP for $25!

KEEP LISTENING FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!!! (94.5 FM)


OTHER LINKS:
http://www.dotoledo.org/gtcvb/events/event_detail.asp?key=584

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/NEWS18/802200450

http://eventful.com/maumee/events/northwest-ohio-riboff-/E0-001-003122903-3

INFO REGARDING 2007 RIB-OFF:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/NEWS18/70809027/-1/NEWS

GENERAL PISH-POSH ABOUT THE RIB-OFF:
http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/2687/Northwest_Ohio_Rib-Off


MORE ABOUT THE RIB-OFF IN GENERAL;
Northwest Ohio Rib-Off

General Event Information
Dates & Times: August 7, 2008 - August 10, 2008 on
Thursday 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am to 11:00 pm
Saturday 11:30 am to 11:00 pm
Sunday 11:30 am to 6:00 pm

Price: $5.00 General Admission $20.00 VIP General Admission
* see below for ticketing information
Event Category: Fairs / Festivals

Description
Grab a napkin and head-on-down to the Lucas County Fairgrounds to enjoy the 25th annual Northwest Rib-Off. This popular summertime tradition gets fired-up in early August and promises everyone who attends a taste of pure hog-heaven…prepared by the best local and national grill masters. The Rib-Off is a great way to spend a summer afternoon or evening.

Besides eating ribs, the Rib-Off offers children’s activities and a slab of smokin’ good entertainment, provided by a number of the area’s best bands. Get ready to enjoy classic rock, the blues, some cool jazz and toe-tappin’ country favorites. Don’t be shy, when it comes to eating ribs at the Rib-Off, you’re meant to use your fingers. We promise to have plenty of wet naps on hand!








Venue Information
Venue: Lucas County Fairgrounds
Address: 1406 Key Street
City: Maumee
State: OH
Zip Code: 43537
Country: United States
Telephone: 419-893-2127

Ticketing Information
Name: Laura Koralewski
Telephone: 419-351-6708
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALSO - ANOTHER UPCOMING EVENT, THIS ONE IN JULY 2008:

When
Jul 13, 2008 5:00 pm (Sunday) Where
Toledo Speedway Bar & Grill
5625 Benore Rd.
Toledo, Ohio 43612
41.7073 -83.5436

Who
BUCK69 Heidi Newfield Hunter Brucks James Otto Play
James Otto
Just Got Started Lovin' You

Toledo Speedway Jam SUNDAY JULY 13th, 2008
5PM Performers: JAMES OTTO - http://www.jamesotto.net
HEIDI NEWFIELD - http://www.heidinewfield.com
HUNTER BRUCKS - http://www.hunterbrucks.com

BUCK69 - http://www.buck69.net Tickets Information: Sundays Show $15.00 Two On A Bike $20.00 per bike / special parking available.

The Toledo Speedway Jam Concert is rain or shine.
Tickets for Toledo Speedway Jam Go On Sale Friday, May 9th at 10AM and
Can Be Purchased At: The Toledo Speedway Bar and Grill; 5625 Benore Rd, Toledo OH, Mon-Sat 11am-7pm; Ph: (419) 729-9182
Phone Orders Star Tickets Plus At 1-800-585-3737 Online at http://www.toledospeedwayjam.com or http://www.starticketsplus.com

At the New Town Square and Monroe St. Toledo Super Fitness Locations; Mon-Fri 6am-9pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-3pm; Ph: 419-476-6018 and 419-882-0568.
Toledo Harley Davidson-7960 W Central Ave, Toledo OH; Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, Ph: (888) RIDE-FREE.
Signature Harley Davidson- 1176 Professional Dr Perrysburg, OH; Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, Ph: (888) 444-2753.

RAIN OR SHINE: The Toledo Speedway Jam Concert will happen, rain or shine.

Schedule On Saturday, July 12, gates open at 5 p.m. and the first act takes the stage at 5:45 p.m.
Directions Toledo Speedway is located at 5639 Benore Road. Take I-75 to the Michigan-Ohio state line and exit Alexis Road.

Call Tom Clawson (www.buck69.net) 419-283-6167 for Tickets for BIKES and Classic Cars


FINGER ELEVEN WAS SUPPOSED TO PLAY!! - BETTER CHECK WEBSITE TO SEE IF THEY STILL ARE!


Here's the link for more Info:

Thursday, December 13, 2007

GLOBAL WARMING OR JUST TOLEDO WINTER?

From the TOLEDO BLADE, DECEMBER 11, 2007:

"Freezing rain that has blanketed northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan contributed to a crash in Sylvania that killed two people from Perrysburg, authorities said.

Those icy conditions were expected to continue into this morning with more freezing rain overnight, but temperatures were predicted to warm up into the low 40s by this afternoon.

Authorities believe that an ice-slickened U.S. 23 caused a crash in which Heather Richie, 26, the driver, and her passenger, Joseph Lee Bekker, 26, both of Perrysburg, were killed after their sport utility vehicle traveling southbound struck a guardrail and went over a bridge railing near Holland-Sylvania Road between Monroe Street and Sylvania Avenue and plunged about 40 to 50 feet onto Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.

The crash likely occurred late Sunday or early yesterday, but the SUV wasn't found until noon yesterday by some children walking along the railroad tracks, authorities said.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE SADDEST WINTER STORIES FROM TOLEDO THAT I'VE EVER HEARD! THOSE POOR PEOPLE COULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE THROUGH THE NIGHT, BUT WEREN'T DISCOVERED UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. I PRAY TO GOD THAT THEY BOTH PASSED AWAY UPON CONTACT>>>

They called police; the woman and the man were pronounced dead at the scene at 12:22 p.m., said Bob Hannon, an investigator with the Lucas County Coroner's Office.

Ms. Richie was wearing a seat belt; Mr. Bekker was not and was partially thrown from the SUV, authorities said.

Conditions have been just about perfect the last couple days for dangerous, icy conditions, said Mike Abair, a meteorologist at the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service.

As a result, schools across the region closed for the day yesterday, many events were canceled, and there were numerous traffic accidents."

THE ICY CONDITIONS ACCOMPANIED BY SNOW, POSSIBLY UP TO 4 INCHES, ARE GOING TO BE APPROACHING THE NORTHEAST U.S. TODAY AND TONIGHT. HOPEFULLY IT WILL DISSIPATE AND BECOME LESS OF A HORROR AS IT DID FOR US LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FREEZING RAIN IN THE PRE-DAWN HOURS< BUT BECAUSE IT TEETERED AT 32 DEGREES, IT MERELY RAINED.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I'd also like to mention the terror of having no heat or electricity like many (at least 20,000 people!) throughout the "tornado belt" including Oklahoma City and all the surrounding area. Can you imagine being a new mother and your brand new baby risking getting a too-low body temperature? or Having to be on life-support in the hospital and have to spend on a generator, or in a home and worrying about the carbon monoxide that a generator puts out to care for an elderly adult that may be on oxygen to begin with? PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS, THAT THEY FIND COMFORT AND RESCUE TODAY!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The weather that Georgia and the Southeast is having this week has to be a global-warming effect, I believe. When cities that should be very cold, have temperatures from 75 to 82 in early December, something's not right.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?? PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS!
THANK YOU, TTOWNROBIN
PS. Happy Holidays!

PS. THERE ARE AMAZING ICE STORM PHOTOS AT TORNADOVIDEOS.NET FROM AN ICE STORM THAT OKLAHOMA HAD IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR...I HAD NO IDEA THAT THIS AREA HAD BEEN HIT SO HARD WITH THIS TYPE OF EXTREME COLD AND PRECIPITATION ALREADY THIS YEAR!! NOW do you think it might from the effects of GLOBAL WARMING???

Here's one example...you really should check out thier blog for more of the rest...

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Toledo Budget: Good News & Bad News
(thanks a lot Carty!)

There's lots more to talk about regarding the proposed Toledo Budget that Mayor Finkbeiner has announced, but these things stuck out in my mind:

There will be an elimination of two city pools, Roosevelt and NAVARRE! No more junior pool for our East Toledo children under 13.
That means MORe punks roaming the neighborhoods with nothing to do this summer.

B. He actually has the odacity to include another UTILITY hike!
Electricity @ 2.5% per annum
Gas @ 2.5% per annum
Water 5% per annum
Sewer 5% per annum
We just had a new charge added to our water bills this past year for refuse collection and a hike in the water/sewer charge...now he plans to raise it again!? We have some of the HIGHEST UTILITY RATES IN THE ENTIRE US!!
I didn't ask (nor was I given the opportunity to vote on it!) for a multi-million dollar bridge to be built, not a WAY TOO EXTRAVAGANT Mud Hens Stadium, and personally, I LIKED the Sports Arena before they tore it down and decided to build a huge one downtown (that was just started this past month) why should I have to pay for it? Because our mayor tells us, as he chuckles, "Bend over and take it up the ass!"

You can see this on page three at this location:
http://www.toledo.oh.gov/Portals/0/2008%20Proposed%20Operating%20Budget(f).pdf

The only good news to speak of is that we will have a ferry dock at the area along Front Street in East Toledo, called the new marina District, that will be gearedtoward the up and coming upper class professionals in the way of housing, shops and other things most East Toledoans can't afford. But it will provide a possible service to Put-in-Bay, Cedar Point, and maybe Windsor.
Completion:
The RF's were posted Friday, November 9th as scheduled. The RFPs are due December 7 with a recommendation scheduled to the New Project Development Committee on December 12.
The facility is available for banquets and rentals.

More info about this can be found at: http://www.toledoportauthority.org/pressroom/marinepassengerterminal.asp

If you want to try to sell your home (good luck) one of the inexpensive ways, AND get the hell out of here, to live somewhere more affordable, try going to:
http://www.toledohomes4sale.com/

Monday, November 5, 2007

Things I learned from OPRAH and DR. OZ today!
3 DRINKS
that will make you feel like a NEW PERSON

HI!
This post is not only about the 3 drinks, but also about Oprah Winfrey's friend, Doctor oz's Anti-again plan. I am reprinting most of this as a reminder to myself, to really think about how much better I could feel if I would just spend a little more on groceries for a month or two (yeah, right, LOL - I get groceries from the church half the time because we're so poor!)

1) THE GREEN DRINK THAT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL YOUNGER AND LIVE LONGER

"The Green Drink" aka, according to Oprah: "FRESH" in a glass!

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
2 big handfuls of Spinach
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 rib of celery
1 thumb of ginger, skin peeled
1 lemon
1 medium cucumber
2 apples
ice cubes (optional)

In a juicer, place all ingredients except optional ice cubes in a juicer until juiced. Serve in your favorite wine goblet or other favorite glass of choice. If desired, add ice cubes for a refreshing cold beverage.

As always, you can adjust these ingredients to your own liking. Perhaps you really really like cucumber. Great! Add 2 cucumbers instead!

For a starter green juice, I recommend additional apples until you get used to the taste. There is no requirement to start out with swamp water that tastes like swamp water. Start with something fruity. Then over time if you want you can add more greens and less apples. That is why green smoothies are so popular - they are usually 60% or more of fruit, and 40% or less of greens.

The green color is a good indication that you have enough greens in the juice. As long as it is green, you know that you are getting the alkaline benefits of greens.

2) Dr. Oz's second drink might not be as pleasant, but it's still important:
a shot of cod liver oil.

"First of all, cod liver oil has the right kind of vitamin D in it—vitamin D3. That's why people who live in the north lands who don't get any sun at all can still survive. It's got the healthy fats that you want in it," Dr. Oz says.

3) Xango Mangosteen Juice and the Magosteen Fruit:

"Why Drink Mangosteen Juice?
There are two very good reasons for having a daily hit of mangosteen juice. First there is the flavour, and then there are the health benefits. Many people like to kick start their day with a glass of fruit juice and, sure, most juices are very good for you, but none have the combination of taste and goodness provided by the fruit of the exotic mangosteen tree.

Take orange juice, for example: great flavor and lots of vitamin C, which is, of course, a well known antioxidant. Mangosteen, however, has been shown to contain over 40 different antioxidants. In fact, laboratory tests have shown that juice from the whole mangosteen fruit is 20 to 30 times more effective at neutralizing dangerous free radicals than juice from most other antioxidant-rich sources.

Mangosteen fruit have been used for centuries in Asia, both as a delicious foodstuff and as a one-stop pharmaceutical gift shop. In more recent times, health researchers from around the world have conducted studies to establish whether the fruit may have a role to play in treating a whole raft of conditions, from cancer to mental illness. Although there is still much work to be done, the results thus far have been able to verify what has been accepted folklore for generations of Southeast Asians—mangosteen is one of Mother Nature’s great gifts to mankind.

So, if you are going to have a morning fruit drink, why not drink mangosteen juice?

Mangosteen Fruit

Rarely has a fruit that has been so unknown to the common man of the western world been so studied, examined, researched, and scrutinized by science than the remarkable Mangosteen. Study after study, research paper after research paper all extol the extraordinary benefits of the Mangosteen and its rich supply of antioxidant xanthones.

"The body's immune and other systems produce homemade antioxidants and some vitamins, such as E and C. But there exist other antioxidants even more potent than vitamins, and these powerful protective substances are only found in certain plants," writes Fred Templeman, M.D. "One such class of substances called Xanthones has recently been identified by scientists in a rain forest plant ... the Mangosteen."

Dr. Templeman continues, "Our secondary research has unearthed over forty scientific papers in which biochemically active components of the Mangosteen have been rigorously examined in the laboratory. . . It is already evident that the multiple health benefits of the fruit are supported by scientific investigation."
For centuries, the people of Southeast Asia have known all about those "multiple health benefits." Now science supports what they've known all along. The ancient wisdom of Southeast Asia. The certainty of modern science.

The Power of Our Whole Fruit Puree

It is not simply the juice of the Mangosteen. Instead, it is a whole fruit puree, utilizing the pericarp as well as the pulp of this extraordinary tropical fruit. As a whole fruit puree it delivers all the benefits of Alpha Mangostin and Gamma Mangostin, the xanthones that have proven to be so rich in life-enhancing qualities.

"Studies are showing that xanthones have positive effects on nearly all the body's systems," says researcher Fred Templeman, M.D. "From increased energy to protection from free radical damage, xanthones delivers a wide range of benefits."

A Taste Sensation

And the best part it is absolutely delicious! We're all familiar with tonics and potions derived from natural plants and herbs. Most have genuine beneficial properties, but the taste leaves so much to be desired. The naturally sweet and tangy flavor of the Mangosteen is a taste sensation you have to experience to believe. It has no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no added sweeteners. We don't need them!

In magosteen juice you get all of the miraculous benefits of xanthones: powerful antioxidants protection against free radical damage, support for cholesterol concerns, a natural energy enhancer, and more. And you get all this in a drink that you'll look forward to tasting!

The Mangosteen fruit is composed of the following:

Pericarp (rind or skin)- it is smooth, 4-8mm thick with a dark purple color
Pulp (fruit) - consists of 4-8 snowy white colored segments. It is soft & juicy with an exquisite unforgettable taste.
Seeds - one mangosteen fruit usually contains 2-3 well-developed seeds ranging between 1.5 and 2.5 cm in length.
Inside the Mangosteen
Size: Roughly the size of a tangerine
Color: Smooth, dark purple pericarp (rind)
Color Inside: "Snow white" colored fruit
Taste: Unbearably exquisite, impossible to forget

Did you know?

The pericarp, or rind of the mangosteen contains more xanthones than any other source on earth! These are the same powerful xanthones that make the Mangosteen the super star of health and nutritional supplements."

ALTHOUGH MANGOSTEEN JUICE WAS RECOMMENDED BY DR. OZ, THE INFORMATION ABOVE WAS NOT FROM HIM OR FROM THE OPRAH SHOW, IT WAS FOUND AT:

http://trythisjob.com/Whatismangosteenjuice.html

THE AVERAGE PRICE FOR 1 CASE OF "Xango" MANGOSTEEN JUICE ON EBAY, IS ABOUT 50.00 PLUS SHIPPING.




WHAT IS WRITTEN BELOW ABOUT A GUEST ON OPRAH IS EXACTLY HOW I LIVE!! BOY, I NEED TO START LIVING SOME OF THIS ADVICE..

MORE FROM TODAY'S OPRAH SHOW:

"Brenda, a 48-year-old single mother, is the first to admit that she had an unhealthy lifestyle. "I ate a lot of sugar. A lot of junk food. I do not exercise," she says.

Brenda says she received a major wake-up call when she started having heart palpitations while driving in the car with her daughter. "At the time in which this was going on, I thought I was going to die," she says.

After running a biophysical on Brenda, Dr. Oz found that on top of being anemic and vitamin D deficient, Brenda had a thyroid problem. "Your thyroid levels were the worst they had ever seen," he says. "You weren't making any at all. That actually was leading to your muscle literally breaking down." Dr. Oz says this may have caused Brenda's heart palpitations. "Over and over again, especially in women, we see the thyroid gland not functioning correctly. And when it happens in the severe nature, you actually fall apart—and your heart muscle, which is one of the muscles, can also stop."

Since Brenda has been following the You: Staying Young plan, she says she is feeling much better. "I'm better able to handle stress, I work out regularly and I'm not as tired," she says.

Dr. Oz stresses the importance of taking care of thyroid problems by having your thyroid levels checked. "It's one of the key blood tests you have to get on yourself," he says."

I AM GOING TO ASK MY DOCTOR FOR A THYROID TEST NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!

AND THIS IS ME TOO:

"Maureen says she had a serious problem with her energy level. "I had brain fog to the point where I could not concentrate or focus on the tasks and duties. Just simple things at home—helping my daughter with her homework—and definitely the career and the job."

Dr. Oz discovered that Maureen was anemic. "You've got to check your blood count," he says. "That's one of the tests you've got to get, no matter how you get it done."

By following Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen's anti-aging plan for eight weeks, Maureen receives the good news that she has brought up her low levels of iron. "Now I have more energy and I'm able to handle the day-to-day things," she says."

A REMINDER FOR ME TO TELL MY FRIEND BRENDA ABOUT/an 8 week anti-aging diet!

"Lisa also went on Dr. Oz's anti-aging plan for eight weeks to help treat her fibromyalgia, which is a chronic syndrome that can cause symptoms like pain and fatigue. "Seven years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and I have been on a gamut of medication," she says. "It would work for a few days, maybe a few weeks, and I would be in constant pain—my neck, my back, my arms, my legs."

Since then, Lisa has been following Dr. Oz's advice and working with a doctor who specializes in fibromyalgia. "About a week after I was on the supplements and walking, I could feel my body is warming," Lisa says. "I have energy. In fact, I have so much energy I have to kind of put a little reserve on because I'm back to being better than what I was before."

"I hope a lot of the audience members' eyes [are open] now to a problem that afflicts 8 million Americans," Dr. Oz says. "You don't have to live with that agony."

MORE WAYS TO HELP YOU LIVE LONGER, INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME!"The smallest particles are the ones that do the most damage.."


Regularly open up windows to air out your home of all the fumes and particles trapped inside.
Making your house healthier starts right at your front door. Take off your shoes when you enter to avoid tracking in pesticides and lawn chemicals.

When you microwave food, don't leave it in plastic containers or with plastic covering. That plastic could leak into the food. Instead, use glass or other microwave-safe containers.

Instead of using toxic chemicals to clean your sink and bathtub, Dr. Oz recommends using baking soda. And you can use white vinegar to clean your windows. Or look for brands like Shaklee's Get Clean line. Oprah says she loves their Basic H2 spot remover.

To avoid the chemicals used in dry cleaning, take your clothes out of the bags while you're outside and throw the bags away. Then, let your clothes air out for at least a day before wearing them.

Use a dehumidifier to cut down on potentially toxic mold in places like garages.
If you must store old cans of paint and varnish, only do it in well-ventilated places that are far from your living area.

Include plants like spider plants, golden pothos and philodendrons in your home. They are experts at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.

ANOTHER BREAKFAST DRINK:


The Quick Magical Breakfast Blaster
2 servings, 136 calories per serving

1 scoop (1/3 cup) Soy protein (like Nature's Plus Spiru-Tein)
1/2 tablespoon flaxseed oil
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 large ripe banana (or other fruits of your choice)
1/2 tablespoon apple juice concentrate or honey
1 teaspoon Psyillium seed husks

Peel banana; break into chunks. Put all ingredients in a blender. Add 12 ounces of water and ice, as well as powdered vitamins. Cover, blend until fairly smooth.

THE ONLY FOUR EXERCISES YOU NEED TO KNOW ACCORDING TO DR. OZ:


"You don't need balls, mats and elastic bands to get a great workout. Dr. Oz says there are only four exercises that you'll ever need to know—and none require fancy machinery!

First, Dr. Oz suggests that people walk for at least 30 minutes each and every day. "Walking is the foundation for all other exercises because it increases your stamina and prepares your body for strength training," he says. You should strive to walk 10,000 steps a day.

The second step is to build muscle by lifting weights for 30 minutes a week. You can lift a dumbbell, a gallon of milk or your toddler…just start lifting!

Now that you're on the right track, Dr. Oz says you have to work up a sweat for about an hour a week. "The number one predictor of how long you're going to live is how well you can exercise your heart," he says. "If you can push yourself to sweat for an hour a week, that's great. You can break it down into three little segments of 20 minutes each."

Finally, you have to stretch so that you don't get hurt. Dr. Oz likes to do yoga, but he says you can get the same benefits from stretches you learned in high school gym class.

There's one secret fat-burner that you can do anywhere—fidgeting!"

THE 14 DAY PLAN RECOMMENDED BY DR. OZ

http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/programs/young/plan/plan_main.jhtml


Why 14 days? Because that's how long it takes for many healthy behaviors to become healthy habits.

The 14-Day Plan: Week 1

1 of 9

DAY 1: TAKING STOCK


1. Get out and go shopping! Buy these items, which should run you less than $125.

A tape measure
A heart-rate monitor (We use Polar products—they have chest straps and monitor watches)
A pedometer
A good pair of walking or running shoes
A hand-grip tester
A blood pressure cuff (Many have memory and download options…or you can use the one at the drugstore)
A notebook or access to computer website to record your results

2. Determine your real age at RealAge.com—that is, the actual age of your body (and mind) based on your health and habits, not your calendar age based on when mama thrust you into the world covered in goop.

3. Measure your blood pressure. Most drug stores have a device that can be placed on your arm if you haven't bought the home device yet.

4. Measure your heart rate in the evening, as well as the highest heart rate you achieve during your most intense exercise.

5. Measure your waist size. Circle the tape measure around your waist at the belly button, while you're taking a deep breath and sucking in. You would anyway, but it is the right way of measuring it as it gets the muscle we do not want to measure out of the way. Also measure your weight. The ideal is for your waist to be half your height.

6. Leave a space to record the average number of steps you take this week.

7. Make a doctor's appointment so you can get the medical tests you need.

8. Answer these questions.

Are you living life from (A) fear or from (B) passion?
Are you playing life (A) to avoid losing or (B) to win?
Are your goals based on (A) preserving the status quo or (B) achieving growth?

If you answered (A) to any of them, it's an indication that you're not moving forward in life. Remember, the only times that your vital signs are completely stable are when you're dead. Like sharks, we need to keep moving in order to live fully.

9. Ask yourself these questions to really determine whether you're really happy.

Are you happy most of the time?
Are you as happy now as you were 5 years ago?
Are you still expecting much from life?
Do your days seem to be passing quickly?
Are you often sad less than 10 percent of the time?

We obviously want you to have positive answers for these questions. If you're not there, our program, as well as professional help, can help you get there.

10. Ask three strangers how old you are. Asking friends and family doesn't count, since they either know or have a vested interest in not hurting your feelings. This will help give you some kind of baseline as to how others perceive you—based on appearance and demeanor—and can be a strong indicator of how healthy you actually are. In addition, you can ask a friend you trust to be honest with you about how you are aging compared to others.

11. Ask your friends what your three biggest strengths are. Identify how you best use them.

12. In your notebook, draw a little box with an amoeba that fills up 70 percent of the box, but also goes outside of the box. The box is your job, and the amoeba is you. The empty spots in the box are where we often focus all of our effort, but perhaps you should focus on the part of the amoeba that lies outside of the box, as this represents your strengths.

13. Ask yourself this simple question: How have you aged over the last five years? Use a picture to compare how you looked between then and now. Your initial thought:

My oh my, I look like I did in high school, dahling.

I'm steady Eddie—about the same.

I'm about what you'd expect—little fatter, little wrinklier, and little more worn down.

I look like tree bark.

14. Ask yourself this: What activities did you do five years ago that you can't do today?

15. Ask yourself these big-picture stress questions, which can help you identify things to work on while using our program:

Is your perceived level of stress more than you enjoy? Remember that actual stress is a more predictable driver of aging than our perception of stress, so push yourself to be honest with yourself.
Do you control most of the stress in your life or are you a rat in someone else's experiment?

GO HERE TO READ ABOUT THE VIATMINS YOU NEED TO FEEL GOOD AND AGE WELL:


http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/slide/20071105/oz_20071105_350_108.jhtml

DAY 2: RE-TOOL YOUR HOME AND MIND


Shop for vitamins and calcium supplements. Buy calcium tablets that have at least 500 milligrams of calcium, 200 international units of vitamin D and 150 milligrams of magnesium. Get your vitamin shopping list.

Shop for non-toxic cleaners.

Purchase and install water filters for your home.

Do the Chi-gong Workout to build your coordination and mind-body connection.

If you have any addictions, start a cessation program to quit. Smoking the issue? Try the program here: http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/programs/young/extend/extend_smoking.jhtml

FOR THE REST OF THE SUGGESTIONS FOR PART TWO, START AT THIS PAGE:

http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/programs/young/plan/plan_105.jhtml


DAY 3: START THE THREE-DAY BODY-BASIC DIET


"Start a calorie-restricted diet, and continue for three days. The goal of this body-basic diet: Recalibrate your settings to eating better foods—and more sensible amount of them.

Here's how it works: Eat about three-quarters of the amount of food you usually eat every day using only healthy foods now. You can do it by eyeballing, or literally filling your plate as usual and taking one-quarter of the meal away and storing it for tomorrow. If you find this too difficult, reducing your calorie intake by even 15 percent will work. And if that is too challenging, then just eat healthy foods in the usual amount for you.

Why? We're trying to get you to feel what calorie restriction, the only proven senility eraser, feels like. It will be a little uncomfortable, but you'll only do it for three days. Drink as much water with lime or lemon juice or fresh brewed green tea as you want, which will help clear toxins and prevent dehydration. Please take your vitamin supplements while on the program since we don't want to starve you if you're already nutritionally depleted from a life of kielbasa with mayonnaise.

When you add back a little more food on Day 6, chances are that even in three days, you'll have trained yourself and your stomach to need less food than you're accustomed to eating."

FIND THE REST OF PART THREE HERE: http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/programs/young/plan/plan_105.jhtml


ON THIS PAGE YOU WILL FIND THE LINKS TO 2 WORKOUTS RECOMMENDED BY DR. OZ, INCLUDING AN EXCUSE-BUSTERS WORKOUT (that's what I need):
http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/programs/young/extend/extend_workouts.jhtml


'Sorry this ended up so long! Hope it helps someone besides me!
XOXO TTownRobin

MELLENCAMP SURPRISES TOLEDO
BEFORE THE CONCERT NOV. 2, '2007
another UPDATE: R-n-R Hall Induction!

ANOTHER UPDATE! WOO HOO!

CONGRADULATIONS JOHN MELLENCAMP!



FROM: http://www.nbc24.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=77406


Rock Hall induction ceremony to return to Cleveland
Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 1:44 p.m.


CLEVELAND (AP) -- The city will rock in early 2009 when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony returns for the first time in more than a decade, Mayor Frank Jackson announced Wednesday.
The ceremony has been held in New York - a sore spot for many Clevelanders - every year except 1997.


After the March 2009 event, the ceremony could return to Cleveland every three years.



The New York-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation sponsors the induction ceremony, which features a concert performance by the inductees and serves as the foundation's main fundraiser.


The announcement comes in a year where the Rock Hall has seen a 10 percent increase in attendance and is planning a major renovation to better convey rock's history to visitors.


Last week, the Rock Hall announced its 2008 class of inductees: Madonna,John Mellencamp, The Ventures, Leonard Cohen and The Dave Clark Five. A panel of 600 industry figures selected the five acts to be inducted at the annual ceremony, to be held March 10 in New York.



UPDATE ~ UPDATE ~ UPDATE!


Found at: http://www.nbc24.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=62109

Tent City kicks off with Mellencamp visit


"Singer John Mellencamp stopped by the annual Tent City weekend in Downtown Toledo
By Arielle Berlin
Posted: Saturday, November 03, 2007 at 1:45 p.m.

TOLEDO, OH -- Singer John Mellencamp kicked off the the opening of the annual Tent City project in Downtown Toledo, helpling area leaders raise awareness about the homeless.

Mellencamp made his visit prior to a Friday night performance at the Seagate Center. He said the real stars were the homeless people who get to spend the weekend getting pampered and prepared for winter.

Volunteers gathering for the annual Tent City project at the Downtown Mall between the Lucas County Jail and the Toledo police headquarters.

"Homelessness is a rising issue in our community with the loss of jobs and just recently we found out that 700 workers on the third shift at chrysler lost their jobs. That could mean foreclosure and eventually homelessness, said Richard Langford, fromt he Toledo Area Alliance to end Homelessness.

At Tent City homeless people can eat, get haircuts, and have medical and dental check-ups.

"When they come here they can get pretty much prepared for the winter time, we have donations of hats, coats, gloves here for them, said Langford.

Mellencamp stopped by after being invited by organizers ation to check out tent city.

"I think it's a fantastic thing that the city is doing, to show some compassion to people who need compassion," Mellencamp said.

Mellencamp performed a few songs and handed out 68 free tickets for his concert.

Activites continue at Tent City Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, there will be a celebrity pancake breakfast - celebrities will be cooking and serving pancakes to the homeless."

WATCH THE VIDEO! GO TO: http://media02.toast.net/nbc24.com/news/11020711ptentcity.wmv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE COVERAGE FROM THE TOLEDO BLADE:

Article published Saturday, November 3, 2007
Rock star takes time for homeless
Mellencamp opens annual Tent City in downtown Toledo
Found at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071103/NEWS16/71103002/-1/NEWS


John Mellencamp, right, greets Jim Fuller, center, of Open Door Ministry Inc. as Jason Slemp, one of its residents, looks on.
( The Blade/Amy E. Voigt )



By TOM HENRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER


"John Mellencamp gave Toledo something to remember yesterday, hours before he stepped onto the stage at SeaGate Centre for his concert.

About 5 p.m., he stopped at Tent City on Toledo’s Civic Center Mall for a half-hour and delivered some heartfelt words to the city’s homeless.

Then, he had someone from his entourage come back and give Ken Leslie, Tent City founder and a member of the Toledo/Lucas County Homelessness Board, 70 concert tickets to hand out.

Accompanied by his wife, Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp, and one of the couple’s two young sons, Speck, Mr. Mellencamp discreetly stepped out of an unmarked sport utility vehicle on Jackson Street and met the Tent City crowd.

Yes, the media were there. TV cameramen and still photographers captured his visit, as did countless novices with their point-and-shoots and cellphone cameras.
After all, it’s not every day a celebrity greets the public in one of America’s economically depressed downtowns.

But this wasn’t an overt public relations stunt, either.

The idea was hatched by Blade religion editor David Yonke, a freelance music writer who was warned, as were others, that the deal was off if downtown was swarming with gawkers with no connection to Tent City.


John Mellencamp greets James Perry after meeting Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, left. Tent City founder Ken Leslie looks on.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )



Mr. Mellencamp’s visit went off without a hitch. It served as this year’s opening for Tent City, an annual two-night campout in downtown in which volunteers provide health care and other services to the homeless.

It concludes at noon tomorrow.

Mr. Mellencamp met privately in a trailer with four people who have worked hard to turn their lives around. Then, he went up on a stage with Mr. Leslie and Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

There was sweetness and warmth in Mr. Leslie’s voice as he drew an analogy between Tent City and Farm Aid, the annual benefit for family farmers that singer Willie Nelson founded in 1985 with the help of Mr. Mellencamp and singer Neil Young.

That was done at the urging of singer Bob Dylan, who urged musicians while performing at the first Live Aid concert that year to do something for America’s small-time farmer.

Mr. Leslie said something “snapped” in his brain while traveling as a stand-up comedian in 1990. Borrowing from Live Aid and Farm Aid, he founded Tent City. Benefit music performances have helped each succeed.

“This is your project, sir, and these are your people,” Mr. Leslie told Mr. Mellencamp up on the stage, his voice cracking as if he were about to cry.

For his part, Mr. Finkbeiner gave Mr. Mellencamp a Toledo Mud Hens cap and a key to the city. He told him the key was “so you can come here anytime you want.”

Mr. Mellencamp seemed more like a bashful Midwesterner than a rock icon while being feted on the stage. He remembers his first concert in Toledo — on the University of Toledo campus — in 1976.

“About 10 people showed up,” Mr. Mellencamp told The Blade.
He said he also likes Toledo because an unidentified local radio station was one of the first to play his music.

He told the Tent City crowd he was honored to be a part of this weekend’s event. “I think it’s fantastic that people have come together and shown compassion for the people who need compassion,” he said.

As he left, he posed for pictures next to a makeshift cardboard house that a formerly homeless man, Jim Fuller, 50, of Perrysburg, made for him.

The structure was painted pink in recognition of “Pink Houses,” one of Mr. Mellencamp’s many hit singles.

During the private time inside the trailer, Mr. Mellencamp heard from Mr. Fuller and his wife, Robin, also 50, as well as Juan Garcia, 51, of South Toledo, and Melissa Ramirez, 46, of Toledo.

Each explained his or her struggles. Their mistakes.

Mr. Mellencamp relayed one himself about the wild partying days of his youth. He wished them all the best.

“It’s great to come to an event where people genuinely try to help each other without standing in judgment of them,” he told the foursome."




I'm not believin' this...I get updates of all the upcoming concerts but I really missed THIS ONE...and THANK GOD my wonderful daughter (who knows her mama) told me today about this...and I have no idea how I am going to scrape up the bucks to go, but..
I LOVE JOHN MELLENCAMP!!

Well, I have part of next month to figure out how to pay for a ticket..I don't think it will sell out.

I saw him when he was in Toledo at Savage Hall in the 80's - FRONT ROW, CENTER!!! (with my old friend Paul Bertok - wonder how he's doing..) ANYONE ELSE WANT TO GO WITH ME??? I don't know anyone who still likes him like I do...
Please let me know ASAP!

Tickets went on sale on Sept. 10Th.
THE SHOW IS ON FRIDAY, NOV. 2.



HERE's THE SETLIST FROM HIS MOST PREVIOUS TOUR...I HOPE IT'S THE SAME ONE AS THIS TOUR!! (dated 2/07)

SETLIST FROM LAST TOUR:
Small Town
Minutes to Memories
Peaceful World
Jack and Diane
Walk Tall
Thank You
Paper in Fire
Authority Song
Jackie Brown
Rain On the Scarecrow
Check It Out
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Lonely 'Ol Night
Hurts So Good
Pink Houses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's the ticket info from TicketMaster:

Internet Onsale Info
Onsale to General Public:
Sat, 09/15/07 10:00 AM EDT

(It's too late for all this, but here's the info just the same..):

Shindig VIP Package:
Start:Fri, 09/07/07 10:00 AM EDT
End:Fri, 10/19/07 05:00 PM EDT

Internet Presale Info
Ticket Rush:
Start:Fri, 09/14/07 10:00 AM EDT
End:Fri, 09/14/07 05:00 PM EDT

Club Cherry Bomb:
Start:Fri, 09/07/07 10:00 AM EDT
End:Thu, 09/13/07 05:00 PM EDT

Target Presale:
Start:Wed, 09/12/07 10:00 AM EDT
End:Thu, 09/13/07 10:00 PM EDT



LIVE NATION PRESENTS
JOHN MELLENCAMP
WWW.MELLENCAMP.COM
SEAGATE CONVENTION CENTRE
401 JEFFERSON AVE
FRI NOV 2 2007 7:30PM

PREFERABLY SERIOUS FANS ( and poeple who know me) MESSAGE ME
ASAP PLEASE!
Unless of course, you are a long lost boyfriend who would like to take me to this concert...that might be fun too...
Thanks for reading!!

XOXO Robin, TTownRobin

COPY & PASTE THIS IN YOUR ADDRESS SPACE, THEN PRESS GO! TO FIND TICKETS:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/08003F24E7055BBF?artistid=770615&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

(you might have to sign in first though, I'm not sure..)

Here is the official John Mellencamp website with the tour information:
http://www.mellencamp.com/index.php?page=tour

ABOVE ORIGINALLY POSTED SEPTEMBER 16, 2007



MORE UPDATE:


NOTE TO ANOTHER TOLEDO BLOGGER (Glass City Jungle) ONCE I HEARD ABOUT THE VISIT:

I was looking for a Mellencamp concert review as well! IT'S KILLING ME: 2 GREAT CONCERTS FROM MY FAVORITE BANDS AND ME WITH NOT A DIME TO GO AND SEE THEM (Styx was at the Stranahan last Friday).
I'd just gotten a phone call from my friend in Tennessee and he was the one who told me about John Mellencamp visiting tent city. So to make matters worse, I REALLY wanted to go there and volunteer, I BEGGED my teenager to go with me and do it as a family event, and she didn't want to, and I'm too much of a big baby to go just about anywhere by myself, or I would have been there to see him too. It really did touch my heart that he made an appearance there, but didn't surprise me a bit. He always has been a humanitarian, and I am proud to say that I have been a fan for years.
Thanks for blogging about it Lisa! Your post was listed 3rd on a Google search.
Keep up the great blogging!
TTownRobin

Friday, October 26, 2007

The STYX concert was tonight
and I can't go :o(

Here is the ad from the Toledo Blade:

FIRST STYX SHOW IN TOLEDO IN 5 YEARS!

Friday October 26, 2007 . 8:00 pm
The Stranahan Theatre . Toledo, Ohio



Why do I have to miss it you ask? (Well I actually doubt if anyone gives a rat's ass, but I'm going to get it off my chest anyway...)

I HAVE NO ONE TO GO WITH
and
I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A TICKET, because if I could, I'd take the damn bus out to the Stranahan Theater and go by myself. That's how much it is bothering me at this point.
I just found out that STYX played at Pensacola, Florida's Civic Auditorium last night (Oct. 20), which is where I used to live. A very goof friend of mine's daughter went and I can't wait to hear how it went and if they stuck with the set list that was posted online:
SETLIST:

Blue Collar Man
Grand Illusion
Too Much Time
Suite Madame Blue
Midnight Ride
A Criminal Mind
Fooling Yourself
Miss America
Come Sail Away
Renegade

I caught an ad, the only one as of Oct 20, on Ebay for 3 tickets for (at this date & time, but changes daily because it's an auction) only $60.00! I about shit. But there are only 3 days left on the auction and I'M SURE they will go up to at least $150.00, as the auction started at like .99 cents, and 12 people have bid on it. PLUS you'd have to bit your fingernails becasue they would have to be sent FED EX for 19.99 additional dollars, and show up at your door the day before the concert, IF you did not pay by any other way but an overnight payment. SOOOO. Oh well.

Here's a pretty cheap place I found:

Sect: MFLOOR - Row: E
5th row on the floor $45
http://www.ticketwood.com/ticketsearch.php?EventSearchID=620863
45.00 bucks at Ticketwood.com, but only a 1 star rating and that doesn't sound real great.

These are from gotickets.com:
Section: MFLOOR Row: E
Notes: 5th row on the floor
1 3 $75.00 each
Section: CENTER Row: XB
Notes: * 2nd Row Front Center Orchestra PIT Seats * Ships Immediately *
2 $185.00 each
OUTRAGOUS!!
NO WAY!!

I saw STYX twice maybe 3 times even, before. STYX was my first concert back in 1977, as the warm-in band for Uriah Heep. I still have the ticket stub. it says $7.50 on it!
Then I saw them again in Mobile Alabama, but I was a little trashed at the time and had had too much to drink (HEY-I WAS JUST OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL - now I know better..I never could hold my liquor..) and remember only seeing the first song, AND WE WERE RIGHT UP FRONT! then getting sick and missing the entire rest of the show. BAD MEMORY.

ANYWAY...Here's another link for tickets - the actual venue itself:

http://www.stranahantheater.com/2001seas.html
(why it says 2001 season I have no idea.)
October 26 - Styx - 8:00 p.m.

FOR TICKETS: http://www.stranahantheater.com/tickets.html


Call TICKETMASTER
to reserve your tickets
419/474-1333

BOX OFFICE:
Monday - Friday
9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday
9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sunday
Closed



HERE'S AN INTERESTING SITE ABOUT A ROAD TRIP TO SEE A TON OF STYX SHOWS:

http://www.kathieland.com/styx/srtc/archive03.htm

ROCKERS ONLINE had an awesome listing of everywhere they were playing, all their CD's, and a complete "wikipedia type' history. Check it out at:

http://www.rockersonline.com/


IF ANY OF YOU GO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW IT WAS!?? After I talk to my buddy, Barb, I'll let you know what she said; and all I got from my Pensacola friend was 'We had fun!" about her experience seing STYX in Pensacola, a week ago Friday night.

Well, have a good weekend...I have to edit my Van Halen research post...I got an email with a discrepancy about David Lee Roth's daughter. Oh well, gives a poor girl stuck at home something to do..
Luv, TTR

OH IMPORTANT!! DENNIS DEYOUNG IS NOT PLAYING WITH STYX. THANK GOD A READER WROTE TO ME AND BROUGHT THIS TO MY ATTENTION, BECAUSE A PICTURE OF THE BAND WAS POSTED WITH THE TICKETMASTER LISTING SOMEWHERE, AND IT LOOKED LIKE HE WAS WITH THEM. HE IS TRAVELLING WITH "DENNIS DEYOUNG, AND THE MUSIC OF STYX", A COMPLETELY SEPERATE GROUP.
Just so you know...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

A Reminder:
The Pemberville Fall Festival is THIS WEEKEND!

Here's the date, details, and web site:

Pemberville’s Autumn Fest on the River

(Address? not found yet, the main drag I suppose) & Phone:
Downtown Pemberville
Pemberville, OH 43450
419-287-3274

Hours:
9am- 5pm

Description:
Pemberville has become famous for hosting this special historical day! This festival will feature historical reenactments, living historians, specialty foods, and demonstrating artisans. The Opera House will be featuring special, surprise performances starting at 11am and running at the top of each hour with the last show starting at 3pm. Sponsored by the Pemberville Freedom Area Historical Society.

Tickets:
Free.

Reservations:
Reservations not required.

Dates:
10/27/2007

~~~~~~~~~~~
http://consumer.discoverohio.com/searchdetails.aspx?detail=49701
~~~~~~~~~~~


Pemberville Autumn Fest Craft Show

Address & Phone:
Pemberville’s American Legion Hall/ Pemberville School
405 E. Front St.
Pemberville, OH 43450
419-287-4000

Hours:
9am-5pm

Description:
Sponsored by the American Legion Post 183 Marching Units. This craft show will feature over 60 craftsmen!

Tickets:
Free.

Reservations:
Reservations not required.

Dates:
10/27/2007

~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.aroundrr.com/Calendar/viewEvent.asp?ID=35072
http://www.aroundrr.com/Calendar/EventList.asp?cat=Community&date=10/27/2007

Monday, October 22, 2007

FOR THE 1ST TIME EVER
MARCY KAPTUR LET ME DOWN


"Please see below, how your legislator voted
on the Federal Excise Tax Increase"


Legislator Name Vote Position

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (DEM) Y Yes


copied from:
http://www.stopthefetincrease.com/legis_scorecard.aspx?LegisID=KaptXMar06171946


CONGRESSWOMAN MARCY KAPTUR HAS BEEN THE ONE TO WRITE TO WHEN EVERY CONTACT HERE IN TOLEDO HAS FAILED ME, AND SHE HAS ALWAYS COME THROUGH FOR ME AND FOR US TOLEDOANS. SHE HAS BEEN A CRUSADER FOR US FOR MANY YEARS...BUT I JUST FOUND OUT THAT BECAUSE OF HER VOTE, WE SMOKERS WILL BE PAYING ANOTHER $6.10 FOR A CARTON OF CIGARETTES STARTING NOVEMBER 1st, 2007.

WHY DO SMOKERS HAVE TO CARRY THE TAX FOR EVERYTHING NEW?


IF THE PROPOSAL FOR THE NEW HEALTH INSURANCE FOR CHILDREN GOES THROUGH ONCE CONGRESS HAS RE-VAMPED IT TO BE STATED PROPERLY, THAT NEW TAX WILL ALL BE OUT OF OUR POCKETBOOKS TOO!

I AGREE, I NEED TO QUIT SMOKING. I AM HAVING A HELL OF A TIME DOING IT. I HAVE TRIED THE NEW STOP-SMOKING MEDICINE: CHANTIX, WHICH CAUSED ME TO EXPERIENCE HORRIBLE NIGHTLY BAD DREAMS, WEEK LONG HEADACHES AND A LACK OF RESTED SLEEP, PLUS CONSTANT BITING THE INSIDES OF MY CHEEKS...BUT EVEN WORSE THAN THAT, I AM SIMPLY NOT READY TO GAIN 100 POUNDS.THE LAST TIME I STOPPED SMOKING, I GAINED 10 POUNDS IN 13 DAYS! I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON MEETING THE MAN OF MY DREAMS YET AND AS LITTLE AS I GET OUT, IT'S NOT LOOKING VERY GOOD RIGHT NOW EITHER, WITH WINTER COMING.

SMOKING IS MY ONLY VICE. I DON'T DRINK TO SPEAK OF, I DON'T DO STREET DRUGS, I DON'T EVEN GO AND SEE MOVIES OR GO SHOPPING! I CAN'T AFFORD IT!! MY ENTERTAINMENT IS SMOKING AND MY COMPUTER AND GARDENING. THAT'S IT! SAD BUT TRUE. AND UNTIL I CAN GET MY MIND AROUND QUITTING, IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL BE STUCK AT HOME EVEN MORE, PAYING $37.10 a CARTON FOR THE CHEAPEST CIGERETTES I CAN STAND RATHER THAN $31.00 (the least expensive at my local carry out within walking distance BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD A CAR!!)
PLEASE HELP LET OUR LEGISLATURE KNOW THAT WE DO NOT WANT THIS TAX!!

VISIT stoptheFETincrease.com
or call: 1-866-527-4494

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Dancing With The Stars - crunch time!

It's coming down to the favorites and the okee-dokee people...and tonight was a shock...KARINA IS AWESOME and could totally carry Floyd, and Mel B. really isn't that great of a dancer, but Floyd was SO STIFF.
Well, at least now Karina can spend more time with Mario Lopez...

WHAT'S NEXT:COOTIE SHOTS for NASCAR TRACK VISITS?

Here's a topic that might just get yer blood running a little quicker if you are a NASCAR FAN like I am:

IMMUNIZATIONS WERE REQUESTED FOR GOP MEMBERS, WHITEHOUSE STAFF, NOMINATED OFFICIALS AND AIDES, BEFORE HEADING OUT TO NASCAR TRACKS TO GET VOTES FROM NASCAR FANS~!!
Read the complete story that I found at:

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-politicalplague&prov=ap&type=lgns

HERE'S THE JIST OF IT:

"It started last month, when an official with the House Committee on Homeland Security suggested that staff aides get immunizations before visiting health facilities at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway and North Carolina's Lowe's Motor Speedway, where the Bank of America 500 was run Saturday.

In an e-mail, a staffer who works for committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., noted an "unusual need for whomever attending to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B," as well as "the more normal things -- tetanus, diphtheria, and of course, seasonal influenza."

The note didn't explain why the committee saw such concern. It didn't mention NASCAR or the races at the tracks at all. But the implication was enough to draw a snarky complaint from Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, whose district includes Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and ... I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," wrote Hayes.

Thompson responded to Hayes that such immunizations are "are recommended for public safety professionals working in areas such as hospitals, holding areas and similar locations." But the staffers were only scheduled to visit a few health care facilities -- not work at them.

"What do they know about NASCAR that we don't?" said Dr. David Weber, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "

WHY NOW? WHY THOSE VACCINATIONS? AND WHAT's NEXT: COOTIES???


What a bunch of maroons!
Hmmmpph.
TTR XO

NOW, THIS KIND OF SHOT I HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT!


Saturday, October 13, 2007

My VAN HALEN CONCERT/Cleveland, OH TRIP EXPERIENCE


(Above: The pic we took of the overhead screen of Eddie & Wolfgang singing:
Below: me and my Brother, in front of the "Van Halen" mustang, across the street from the Arena & the bar where the local radio station held the concert psyche-up party)

Aside from the trip to Cleveland being a chance for me to get out of the house and out of Toledo for a day or two, it was also a teary eyed (for me) reunion for my little brother and I. Though I am now 47 and he's 42, when we get together it's always like old times, the good ones anyway..(and we have definitely had some bad years apart here and there.)
After comparing how old looking we'd gotten and laughing our asses off, we got down to the plan of settling into the hotel: the Holiday Inn Express, downtown Cleveland (nice: Mezzanine floor offers 2 pool tables which I didn't see until the next day, going down for a tray of breakfast goodies, which were awesome, to take back up to the room, as well as a copier and 2 computer/work stations. The staff was very cordial and professional, and quick to bring us extra supplies. (though the guy at the front desk was a smart-ass to my brother, he was nice to me). The bathrooms were super-nice and I can't wait till I'm rich enough to buy a shower head like the ones they offer!

Check out this page to see how nice the bathrooms were:
http://www.awardhq.com/Custom/48323_HIExpress/cat_bath_collection.html
There was a CVS drug store across the street in case you'd like to get pictures developed at the one-hour-photo (like we did) and to pick up batteries, film, snacks, drinks and/or beer & wine. Before the show, we kind of stupidly decided to try to find a party or concert psyche-up bar event, which we did, across from the Quicken Loans Arena (near Jacobs Field) and it was there that we saw the Van Halen painted camero. The bar was so crowded with rick-looking people squeezing in & out of the door, that we thought for a minute that the band might just be in there too. We got our picture in front of the Camero, and went in and talked to a few people about the difference between the "Sammy" Van Halen & the "Dave' Van Halen, while waiting for our beverages. We left soon after though, because the prices were really up there. We also were asking around about a Van Halen party AFTER the concert, with no luck...it was drizzling and we couldn't find a liquor store ANYWHERE in the area, which dampened our plans in more ways than one. You can't go to the hotel where the band is staying (the Radisson, I'm assuming, across from the Arena and one of the most expensive if not for the 119.00 a night special by showing your event ticket _ AND SOLD OUT THE FIRST DAY AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT) and try to fit into a party without a bottle of some sort...or SOMETHING to share.
Anyway, as the rain got heavier, we headed down to the Quicken Loans Arena..We had our glow sticks that my brother brought to sell or give away, in vain, before the show, but got looks like I'd NEVER seen from a group of supposedly happy people...then we found out upon entering that glow sticks aren't allowed inside. What a bunch of maroons! We hid them in the bushes and took them back to the hotel afterward.

The arena was really nice. The acoustics were great from where we sat. We paid $6.25 for a very large draft beer in a cup, and there were plenty of food and drink booths, as well as commonly located concert souvenir tents, inside and outside. The most inexpensive t-shirt was $35.00 with most of them being $40.00 each. Most of them were black, and one was grey. My brother only likes the white ones, and hasn't been to a concert, evidently in a long while, because he thought $40.00 was too much for a t-shirt. I, being the experienced concert-goer (LOL), knew that $40.00 was commonplace. And it hurt my belly that I left without one. (I checked Ebay today though, and I'm sure that sometime before the tour is over, I will find each of us one, for little more than the shipping cost. over what they were charging at the Arena.) i personally didn't care for the cheaply made designs on the T-shirts. They reminded me too much of Journey with the wings coming out from the "VH". I would have preferred a Van Halen shirt that had the dates of the tour on the back of the shirt, much bigger, and a glittery or IDK, something "cool" on the front than just the teeny "VH" with wings and a crown on top...maybe a picture of the 4 guys, showing Wolfgang with them and Dave in the Center or something.

Kai Mani Marley, youngest child of The great Bob Marley, sounded wonderful, as the opening act, mellow and refreshing, but definitely not a band that I would recommend to "warm-up" for the great Van Halen. With TONS of new rocking music out there (hell, we met a great bass player at the Greyhound station that was on tour with a band called: "RUN". He gave us a CD to listen to and THEY would have been a GREAT band to warm Van Halen crowd up!) Which reminds me, my brother saw the guy doing the main sound board on his Greyhound bus from Baltimore to Cleveland, and do you think they guy would give us a hello or a tip of the head once we got into the venue? Hell no!
Anyway, until the lights went off and on for Van Halen to come on, we squeezed in a couple cigarettes out at one of the 3 smoking areas outdoors. THANK GOD there was a little overhang or we would have been soaked. That's where all the COOL people go - the smoking area. Everyone at any one I have ever been at, has been cordial, friendly, and talkative. That's usually where you get a party invite too..We weren't that lucky that night. Just so you know: the website that tells ANYTHING you would ever need to know about the Quicken Loans Arena stated that there were little TV screens at the smoking areas, and there weren't. And we never did find the smoking area outside of Gordon's Sports Bar in the back of the Arena, only the one down by section 120, about 50 yards away.

FYI: Here's the EXCELLENT website for Quicken Loans Arena: http://www.theqarena.com/

OK, back to the concert... The band stuck to the online posted set-lists like glue, and unfortunately, just seemed to zip through many of the songs. We were lucky enough to be the the show where David Lee Roth was celebrating his birthday (October 10th, 1954) and had made a really cool sign/card for him with glitter, lights and - well it was just cool, but even though my brother had PURPOSELY paid the big bucks for floor seats JUST SO HE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO GO UP BY THE STAGE, the Q.L. Arena staff quickly rushed us back to our THISCLOSETOGETHER fold-out chair seats every time we tried to get up closer. Now that made my bro' a sad little boy..We were no more than I'd say 20 rows back from where the s-curve stage came out into the crowd, and I couldn't see worth a shit. An I wore 3 inch heeled boots just in case! Everyone stood the entire time, which was all fine and good, but no one stood on their chairs, so I couldn't see, except for the big screens that the Arena offered. THANK GOD. So that is what many of our pictures were of - the screens showing what the tiny band members were doing on stage. IF YOU EVER GO THERE< AND CAN'T GET WITHIN THE FIRST 5-10 ROWS, GO AHEAD AND TRY TO GET THE NEXT LEVEL UP OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE.We were 3 seats from the sound guy, on the floor. I got claustrophobic for a while, and went and got a beer and watched the guitar solo (after the 9th song) from the upper level. it was a MUCH better view and AMBIENCE up there. PLUS I COULD BREATHE! The chairs were just entirely too close together.
The very nice girl I met next to me apologized because she had to talk the guy she came with into coming because someone had just died in their family - so they weren't yelling much, and the folks behind us were pretty quiet too. If they don't have a mosh pit. they should at least have a "rowdy area" for us concert freaks, I think. Here's how the stage was set up:


My favorites were "Atomic Punk"...it had an awesome intro, "Everybody Wants Some" (Dave did a cool introduction to that one), and of course, "Hot For Teacher", "Ice Cream Man" and "Panama". "Jump" was ok, but not as crazy as I would have hoped for the end of a show...I got the impression that they were glad that this whole monotonous set was over. They brought out that huge blow-up microphone, with Dave riding it, then did nothing else with it.

(Image from BlogsNRoses.com)
It would have been cool if they would have let the crowd surf it a while. OR, maybe it was just ME, being bummed because the concert was over at that point...who knows.

Here was the set list: (with the albums that they came out on listed afterward)
The group's set list was as follows:

Set list:

01. You Really Got Me (from Van Halen, 1978)
02. I'm the One (from Van Halen, 1978)
03. Runnin' With the Devil (from Van Halen, 1978)
04. Romeo Delight (from Women and Children First, 1980)
05. Somebody Get Me a Doctor (from Van Halen II, 1979)
06. Beautiful Girls (from Van Halen II, 1979)
07. Dance the Night Away (from Van Halen II, 1979)
08. Atomic Punk (from Van Halen, 1978)
09. Everybody Wants Some (from Women and Children First, 1980)
10. So This Is Love? (from Fair Warning, 1981)
11. Mean Street (from Fair Warning, 1981)
12. Pretty Woman (from Diver Down, 1982)
13. Drum Solo
14. Unchained (from Fair Warning, 1981)
15. I'll Wait (from 1984, 1984)
16. And the Cradle Will Rock (from Women and Children First, 1980)
17. Hot for Teacher (from 1984, 1984)
18. Little Dreamer (from Van Halen, 1978)
19. Little Guitars (from Diver Down, 1982)
20. Jamie's Cryin' (from Van Halen, 1978)
21. Ice Cream Man (from Van Halen, 1978)
22. Panama (from 1984, 1984)
23. Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption")
24. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (from Van Halen, 1978)

Encore

25. 1984 (from 1984, 1984)
26. Jump (from 1984, 1984)

The only difference between our show and those that I had read at http://vanhalentour2007.blogspot.com/ , was that during the guitar solo that Eddie did, he goofed around with "Romeo Delight" on the guitar a bit as well.
There wasn't much dialog at all that I can recall, except for Dave saying that this was one of the best birthdays he had had in a long time, but somehow I just didn't believe it (unless maybe it was because he met up with his daughter and granddaughter - see my last "research' post..who knows...not really my business anyway..)

But PLEASE don't take this wrong. I KNOW it's coming out sort of negative, but it was an AWESOME VAN HALEN SET AND SHOW and I enjoyed it IMMENSELY! I whooped it up and hollered the entire time (my brother is still a little hoarse, 2 days later) We "danced the night away" became "atomic punks" and "jump(ed)" till we were "unchained". it was a great show and I will remember it always. See, i wasn't one of the lucky ones who had seen Van Halen tour with Diamond Dave back in the day, this was my first time seeing them, and it was fantastic. How many concerts to you get to go to where the main band plays 26 SONGS??!! None I can recall!

I feel it necessary to mention a few things that I noticed that took me by surprise:
Eddie Van Halen had a gold wedding band on his right hand. I felt compelled to do research on this, which is in the next or previous research post..(entitled "wedding band on..!") Also the fact that Eddie looked SO BAD. Oh God, of course I know he's been through a lot, but his ribs were all sticking out, and he had a little bit of "old-man" boobs" hanging down. If I didn't know how old he was, I'd swear he was 60 and had dyed his hair. He didn't move a whole hell of a lot around the stage, and neither did Dave at this show for that matter. I do remember ONE high kick.
Wolfie was one cool 16 year old young man. he played it up and wore aviator sunglasses. he was cool and having fun, and sang JUST EXCELLENT. OH, and yes, My brother noticed that Dave forgot the words about 5 times, but I didn't catch it. And he was all huggy with Eddie at this show too. Eddie and Wolfgang held hands when they walked off the stage which would have embarrassed the hell out of my 16 year old, but more power to 'em. I would have been so proud I would have squeezed the crap out of him and gave him a big fat kiss too.
In conclusion, about the concert,, I wish we could have gotten close enough to allow the band to read our posters and notice us...just like 75 percent of the auditorium probably wished too. Isn't that what it's all about? Being cool and being noticed? At a concert, I always thought it was.

The next day, having until 5 pm to have to catch our perspective busses to return "home", we enjoyed the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame, which is right at the end of Ninth Avenue near Lake Erie and about a 10 minute walk from the Arena and downtown hotels. (http://www.rockhall.com/ ) I had been there when it FIRST opened and saw the ABSOLUTELY STUPENDOUS once-in-a-lifetime-9-hour concert for the grand opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (so now maybe you see that my point of view may be a bit jaded...I have been some MIND BLOWING concerts in my life, and some from the first row..Examples: Pink Floyd; Detroit, 3rd Row with "groceries", Mellencamp, first row center, Styx right in front of the stage, Melissa Etheridge, at a tiny bar on her first tour, the list goes on and on..) it and will never forget the "in Memoriam" floor (THEN, and ENTIRE floor with dimmed lights and no talking, now just a corner on the 2nd floor with 3 photos in frames - talk about disappointed..) The entire 5th floor was shut off while they were working on a Beatles tribute. So the first time I went, it took more than 5 hours to see everything, this time we zipped through, in a matter of 2 and a half hours, and that included the 3rd floor which was the teeny little cafeteria (don't get the hamburgers, they are pre-made and microwaved and like rubber...NASTY.) The store on this tip was the best part, OH and the video put together of all the funny things said by the inductees at the various inaugerations...none included anyone from Van Halen though, who was just inducted in may of this year.

I thank the Lord and my brother for this opportunity, and for keeping us safe, and wish the entire Van Halen tour continued good health, fun shows and lots of happiness, and the most awesome memories from all the work that they put into this tour, that will last a lifetime.




'Till I get 'em all uploaded into this blog, here's the link to the
(kinda crappy but what do you expect from section 4 row O with a disposable camera??)
VAN HALEN CONCERT PICTURES from the CLEVELAND SHOW ON OCTOBER 10th, 2007...

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=152734660&albumId=2209431

THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE ADD SOME COMMENTS!!
XOXO TTownRobin




I was just a tad offended by this concert review, by
but I did understand his point to a certain extent because I felt the same way on a few occasions. So I went ahead and added it on to my review...I hope I don't confuse anyone..:

FOUND AT: http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/hc-vanhalenrev1007.artoct07,0,6937883.story
PRINTED OCTOBER 13, 2007

Van Halen Reunion Nothing Special
By THOMAS KINTNER | Special to the Courant
October 7, 2007

"The whether and when of a Van Halen reunion with original lead singer David Lee Roth have been subjects of frequent speculation ever since Roth quit the enterprise in April 1985, a rabbit that would not come out of its hat until at last the band kicked off its current tour last month.

The famously combustible band brought its signature brand of boisterous, hard-charging rock to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday for a show that had some impressive moments but was generally more serviceable than special.

Although the signature presences of Roth and guitarist Eddie Van Halen were sufficient to satisfy most nostalgia, the band's lineup was not quite its original, as bass player Michael Anthony has been replaced by Van Halen's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang. That role has never been the band's lynch pin and remained secondary as drummer Alex Van Halen hammered out a back beat for the rowdy opener "You Really Got Me" while his brother Eddie tore into the melody with sharp-edged electric licks.

Roth's role requires little more than an ability to bark festively in a manner sufficiently assertive to match up with full bore rock anthems, and despite having accrued some additional rasp on his voice's high end over the years, he remained game enough to handle the chore as he yelped "I'm the One" and pushed along the chunky "Runnin' With the Devil." Short-haired relative to the flowing locks of his glory years, the 53-year-old Roth was more tentative and less kinetic than the memories he was trying to evoke, almost asking for the crowd's approval where once he would have commanded it as he battered the lyric of "Somebody Get me a Doctor." He looked fit and frequently punctuated his performances with spinning high kicks, twirled microphone stands and other colorful touches that were the closest things to spectacle in a generally straightforward show.

The storied antagonism between Roth and the Van Halen brothers was nowhere to be seen as the singer went out of his way to vamp Eddie's still-incendiary playing as it formed the centerpiece of the roaring "Everybody Wants Some." The tour is most assuredly a marriage of convenience for two factions that desired the buzz - and payday - their reunion would bring, but the band members seemed almost surprisingly cordial in ways that went beyond the couple of hugs the always-grinning Roth and Eddie Van Halen managed during the show.

With the exception of a snippet of "316" during Eddie Van Halen's lengthy guitar solo near its end, the entire set was built from tunes from the Roth era, which meant everything was at least 23 years old. Much of it remained a dynamic mix of hard rock and pop, from the springy "Unchained" to the rugged throb of "And the Cradle Will Rock." Roth opened "Ice Cream Man" by reminiscing his way through a solo acoustic guitar bit (in fact, Wolfgang Van Halen was the lone member of the quartet who didn't take a solo turn), and his voice was a touch creaky during a blowout trip through "Panama."

The set ran to two hours by the time it closed with a pulsating rendition of "Ain't Talkin' `Bout Love," and then extended with a brief encore of the band's lone chart-topping single, "Jump." The tune closed with Roth riding a big inflatable microphone across the stage, but the prerecorded keyboard line was more in line with how adornments fit into the program, a light touch in a show that tied up more efforts in raw energy than gimmicky flair."


DAMN! My Hair looked GOOD! Too bad it went flat as soon as we started walking in the drizzling rain to the show..At least I got a (dark) picture of it...!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Ed had a wedding ring on!
..more Van Halen Research..

FROM:
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=64844

EDDIE VAN HALEN: New Photos Posted Online - Jan. 6, 2007

New photos of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, taken by veteran rock photographer Ross Halfin, have been posted online on Halfin's web site: Photo#1, Photo#2, Photo#3.

AVN.com reported last month that Eddie's new girlfriend, publicist Janie Liszewski (web site, MySpace), has left the adult industry and her company High Profile Media to be the exclusive PR rep for Eddie Van Halen.

Liszewski met up with the VAN HALEN organization while working on the publicity for director Michael Ninn's "Sacred Sin" (Ninn Worx), for which Eddie Van Halen composed two songs.

Rumors continue to swirl that David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen will reunite at least one more time in VAN HALEN. Eddie and his brother Alex are prepping for a tour this year, with Eddie's 15-year-old son Wolfgang on bass instead of Michael Anthony, but no singer has been officially announced. Eddie told Guitar World magazine, "I'm telling Dave, 'Dude, get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!'... As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go."

As for having his son in the band, Eddie said, "Wolfgang breathes new life into what we're doing. He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for three months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our (stuff). The kid is kicking my ass! He's spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world."

Former VAN HALEN vocalist Sammy Hagar told Cleveland's The Plain Dealer late last month about a possible VAN HALEN/Roth reunion, "Dave and Ed working together? I don't see it in a million years. Dave's gonna want it to be all about him. Ed's gonna want it to be all about him. And that's a tough one right there. I'll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up."

As for Eddie Van Halen's fifteen-year-old son Wolfgang replacing Michael Anthony on bass, Hagar said, "I really have no idea what's going on. Michael and I are friends, which is why he isn't in the band anymore."



"ED'S GIRLFRIEND"
FROM HER WEBSITE AT:
http://www.janiesgotagun.com/resume.html
"BECAUSE INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW..."

I'm not sure but this was who he was with at last year's Oscar After-Party according to a gossip mag (and this is that FAMOUS TERRIBLE pic of him before he got his teeth fixed!):



~a better view of this photo is at: http://mog.com/rjacoby/blog_post/112620

There WAS a link to her MYSPACE, but when I clicked on it, it said that it no longer existed and had been closed....probably BECAUSE of that link, she must of gotten THOUSANDS of friend requests and hate mail from Eddie's female fans.
The links to her "Photos, Reel, and Bio" have all been disabled as well.

Here's a pic or two of her though:





Janie Liszewski
Stunt Woman / Actress
S.A.G.
Joni’s 818-886-8687 / Cell 661-607-4891
Height: 5’5" Bust: 34 B
Weight: 110 lbs. Waist: 25
Hair: Dark Brown Hips: 34
Eyes: Hazel Shoe: 7 ½ / 8

Features
*Havoc Lou Simon Acting/Stunts (Gang Member)
*Spiderman 2 Dan Bradley Acting/Stunts (Paralegal)
*Cursed Rick Avery Stunts
*Along Came Polly Alex Daniels Stunts (Salsa Dancer)
Latin Dragon Tuyoshi Abe Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Looney Tunes Gary Combs Stunts
*Cradle 2 The Grave Dan Bradley Stunts (Russian Expert)
Max Keeble’s Big Move Rob King Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Diablo Tim Davison Stunts
*Bubble Boy Jack Gill Stunts (Blowtorch Dancer)
*Evolution Tom Harper Stunts
*Imposter Walter Scott Stunts
The Wedding Planner Cory Eubanks Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Mulholland Drive Charlie Croughwell Stunts
*Highway Rob King Stunts
*The Third Society Bobby Foxworth/J.A. Steel (Dir.) Acting/Stunts (Toni)
*B-Movie Billy Zabka (Dir.) Acting (Sky)
*From Dusk Till Dawn Steve Davison Stunts (Dancer/Vampire)


Television
Charmed Noon Orsatti Stunts (Dbl Actress)
Sex, Love and Secrets Gary Baxley Stunts (Dbl Actress)
*The Surreal Life 2 Acting (As Myself)
*Wanda At Large Acting (As Myself)
She Spies Jim Vickers Stunts (Dbl Actress)
Scrubs Ernie Orsatti Stunts (Dbl Actress)
The Shield Merritt Yohnka Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*America’s Most Wanted Joni Avery / Thomas MacKowski (Dir.) Acting/Stunts (Mltpl. Episodes)
*Birds of Prey Hiro Koda Stunts
*CSI Miami Jeff Dashnaw/David Grossman (Dir.) Guest Star (Susan Mc Cleary)
Passions Harry Wowchuck Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Malcolm In The Middle Bobby Porter Stunts
The Chronicle Russell Solberg (Dbl. Actress)
*Roswell Troy Robinson Stunts (Dancer)
*Titus Acting (Mute Girl)
*Grounded For Life Noon Orsatti Acting/Stunts (New Orleans)
Ryan Caufield Walter Scott Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Nash Bridges Merritt Yohnka Acting/Stunts (Sarah)
Baywatch Greg Barnett / Tim Trella Stunts (Dbl. Actress)
*Profiler Noon Orsatti Acting/Stunts (Vanjour)
*The Simple Life Acting/Stunts (Zenon)
*Married With Children Acting (Dancer)

Other
*Splendor Music Video Janie Liszewski Near Miss/Coordinator
*Tower Pro Commercial Principal Actress
*Enrique Iglasias Music Video Janie Liszewski Precision Driving/Coordinator
*James Bond “The World Is Chad Stahelski Motion Capture
Not Enough” Video Game (all female characters)
*Batman and Robin Live Action Show Alex Daniels Acting/Stunts (Batgirl)

Skills
Dialogue Capable, Good N/D Girl, Basic Fights, Dancer (Most Latin Styles), Most expected skills.

Doubles
Jennifer Lopez, Lisa Boyle, Judy Reyes, Veronica Alicino, Rena Sofer, Eva Tamargo Lemus, Joyce Giraud, Rina Fernandez, Elizabeth Greer, Lauren German

Training
On Camera Cold Reading Workshop: Andrew Crusse
Emergency Medical Technician Northridge Hospital
Firefighter Los Angeles City Female Tutorial Program
* Indicates face on camera or dialogue
Multi Ethnic: Latin, Middle Eastern, Native American, Eastern European

HERE'S SOME LINKS THAT WERE ON MYSPACE WHEN I DID SEARCH FOR "Janie Liszewski" to see if she opened a new MySpace page: (the first two are listed as being Michael Anthony's.)

blog.myspace.com/xvanhalenbassistx
Last week, The Feed ran a story about how Eddie Van Halen's spokesperson Janie Liszewski told TMZ.com that his son Wolfgang was officially the new bassist in ...
blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=14676
324

MySpace.com - Anthony - 31 - Male - Co-Ram, NEW YORK - www.myspace ...
G4 reports that guitarist Eddie Van Halen's spokesperson, Janie Liszewski, has confirmed rumors that Anthony will be replaced in the band lineup by Eddie's ...
profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendI
=854881

blog.myspace.com/135258886
2) by Janie Liszewski from High Profile Media, "VAN HALEN fans can look forward to legendary high intensity performances, featuring a setlist of the most ...
blog.myspace.com/135258886

Myspace.com
Eddie Van Halen declined interviews through his publicist and girlfriend, Janie Liszewski. Conversations with the business team behind the tour paint a ...
forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&en
ryID=31486433&categoryID=0&IsSticky=0&groupID=104640161&Mytoken=3
40DA24-4737-411D-A027F2CE149C849C86943538

Myspace.com
... are surprised to see that some websites are saying that Van Halen is currently being managed by Eddie's girlfriend (Janie Liszewski/High Profile Media). ...
forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&en
ryID=31439587&categoryID=0&IsSticky=0&groupID=104640161&Mytoken=C
7E9D30-E563-48D1-A59AD72E7F714A203094521

Myspace.com Blogs:d1webmaster MySpace Blog
(5) Ended up speaking with Janie Liszewski yesterday, who runs High Profile Media, and who is also Eddie Van Halen's publicist...got to breifly and ...
blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.listAll&friendID=46932
7&startID=290298989&StartPostedDate=2007-07-21%2001:32:00&next=1&
age=1&Mytoken=B57082F1-E794-4474-8522435797CA981A67546618

MySpace.com - Jon-Paul - 31 - Male - BURBANK, California - www ...
According to the band's rep, Janie Liszewski, the tour will cover most major US cities, including LA and New York. Vixo, Feb 5 2007 3:47P ...
profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendi
=63513926

MySpace.com - Van Halen - US - Classic Rock / Rock / Pop - www ...
In November, Eddie's spokesperson Janie Liszewski claimed the Van Halen family were writing/rehearsing for a Summer 2007 tour. Subsequently the announcement ...
profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendI
=231603190





CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!!
HOW MICHAEL ANTHONY FOUND OUT HE WASN"T GOING ON TOUR!
FOUND AT:
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/category/van-halen-tour/

"As you’ve almost certainly heard, later this month the reunited Van Halen is hitting the road for an extensive tour with David Lee Roth out front. But something is missing. Original bassist Michael Anthony — whose distinctive backing vocals are crucial to classics like “Running With the Devil” and “Panama” — has been fired and replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s sixteen-year-old son Wolfgang. Many outraged fans are pledging to stay home, while others will be showing up with “Where Is Michael Anthony?” T-shirts. Last week Anthony got on the phone with RS to explain what happened.

When was the last time you saw Eddie Van Halen?
The last time I actually spoke or saw him in person was right after we walked offstage in 2004, the last show of the tour.

How were things then?
It really didn’t end in total peace and harmony within the band, for whatever reasons. I’m not going to finger-point at anyone, but the tour, after eighty shows, just couldn’t go on at that point.

How did you find out they were going to do this upcoming tour without you?
Probably like everybody else, I found out on the Internet and through word of mouth. I can understand that he wants his kid to play with him. If I had a kid like that, I’d like to have him perform with me, too. It was kind of funny when I first heard about it being a Van Halen “reunion.”

(Keep reading for Anthony’s take on the 2004 tour, the doctored album covers that appeared online after the band’s recent reunion announcement, his sixteen-year-old replacement and more.)" HERE'S THE LINK TO THE REST:http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/09/04/fired-van-halen-bassist-i-found-out-on-the-internet/#more-3726

-- Andy Greene



THIS ACTUALLY IS AN AWESOME LINK FOR 2007 CONCERT PHOTO LINKS AND ANOTHER REVIEW FOR THE CHARLOTTE OPENING DATE, AS WELL AS A LINK TO THE REST OF THE STORY ABOUT MICHAEL ANTHONY (above):
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/category/van-halen-tour/

TO BE CONTINUED>>>>> I GOTTA TAKE A WALK OR SUMPTHIN!
XO TTR

A good article about Wolfie:IN and Michael:OUT
Janie's Got A Band
"In-N-Out" VAN HALEN

EDDIE VAN HALEN: reported on Jan. 6, 2007

AVN.com reported last month that Eddie's new girlfriend, publicist Janie Liszewski (web site, MySpace), has left the adult industry and her company High Profile Media to be the exclusive PR rep for Eddie Van Halen.

Liszewski met up with the VAN HALEN organization while working on the publicity for director Michael Ninn's "Sacred Sin" (Ninn Worx), for which Eddie Van Halen composed two songs.

Rumors continue to swirl that David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen will reunite at least one more time in VAN HALEN. Eddie and his brother Alex are prepping for a tour this year, with Eddie's 15-year-old son Wolfgang on bass instead of Michael Anthony, but no singer has been officially announced. Eddie told Guitar World magazine, "I'm telling Dave, 'Dude, get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!'... As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go."

As for having his son in the band, Eddie said, "Wolfgang breathes new life into what we're doing. He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for three months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our (stuff). The kid is kicking my ass! He's spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world."

Former VAN HALEN vocalist Sammy Hagar told Cleveland's The Plain Dealer late last month about a possible VAN HALEN/Roth reunion, "Dave and Ed working together? I don't see it in a million years. Dave's gonna want it to be all about him. Ed's gonna want it to be all about him. And that's a tough one right there. I'll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up."

As for Eddie Van Halen's fifteen-year-old son Wolfgang replacing Michael Anthony on bass, Hagar said, "I really have no idea what's going on. Michael and I are friends, which is why he isn't in the band anymore."

I think I've covered that subject about enough...Have a good one,
TTR

Monday, October 8, 2007

VAN HALEN RESEARCH! WHAT A TRIP!

I was looking for the exact date of David Lee Roth's Birthday, which BTW was the night of the Cleveland concert, October 10th, (1954) and tripped across a bunch of stuff I didn't know...so i thought I'd share. NOTE: THIS IS ALL MERELY COPIES AND REFERENCES TO DAVID LEE ROTH'S CHILDREN THAT WAS FOUND UPON GOOGLING AND FROM MYSPACES. DUE TO THIS, I CANNOT CONFIRM OR DENY THE TRUTH BEHIND ANY OF THIS. FOR THE MOST PART, I BELIEVE THE INTERVIEW AND WHAT I FOUND DUE TO THINGS THAT WERE STATED IN THE INTERVIEW.IMPORTANT: If anyone in the David Lee Roth direct family objects to this post, please let me know and I will edit it immediately...

The interview below is hosted by Luke Ford, and the interviewee is Brenna Lee Roth:
An Interview With David Lee Roth’s Daughter Brenna: Daughter of Van Halen front man David Lee Roth.(reprinted as stated on web page for LukeFord.net)

Posted By LukeFord.net/blog/?p=752 - 8-17-07

Brenna (her MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/brennaleeroth) grew up in Ohio.
ATTN: PHOTOS BELOW WERE FOUND ON THIS MYSPACE SITE.

According to Brenna’s IMDB biography (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2260940/bio): "Brenna Lee Roth was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1983. She was a Model for several companies in 1990 until 1999. In 2000 Brenna joined her brother Kevin Roth singing in the punk band Bosworth. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio and Studio City, California. Graduated from Malone with a B.S. in Theatre."

Brenna has acted in three low-budget horror films.

I talk to Brenna by phone Friday morning. [3] Audio - http://www.lukeisback.com/images/images/brennaroth.wav

>>>
EXCERPTS:
Luke: "Hasn’t [your sister] Avy [Lee Roth] left the porn industry?"

(TTR - NOTE: www.avyleeroth.org/ & http://www.avylee.com/



According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avy_Lee_Roth:
"Avy Lee Roth is a Spanish adult actress (born December 12, 1979 in Madrid, Spain) who claims to be the daughter of Van Halen singer David Lee Roth. ..."



Picture above courtesy of: http://www.exposay.com/avy-lee-roth-2007-adult-entertainment-expo---day-4---sands-expo-center-las-vegas/p/10235/1/?f=Avy+Lee+Roth

>>>

Luke: "Did you know Avy when you were a kid?"

Brenna: "When I was twelve, I knew that I had a sister but I didn’t end up meeting her until three years ago at Venice Beach. She’s almost 28. We totally clicked. We’re both solid entertainers. We just feel the need to entertain people."

Brenna says David Lee Roth has three kids. "A boy. I don’t know what his name is. My dad is not open to talking about anything."

>>>
Luke: "What role did David play in your childhood? Was he around?"

Brenna: "Yes. He was. Quite often. Until I was three, I spent lots of time with him. Then my mom moved me back to Ohio out of New York. She married another man. He [David] is always someone I can talk to if I need entertainment advice or advice on where I can go next with my career.

"He’s more of a friend in the industry than a father."

Luke: "Did you have a teacher who most influenced you?"

Brenna: "I guess my dad."

Luke: "What kind of advice did your father give you a(g-sp)bout the media?"

Brenna: "Not much. He usually talks about everything. It’s hard for me not to talk about everything."

>>>
Luke: "Out of all the things you’ve accomplished in your life, of which things are you most proud of?"

Brenna: "I’m proud of being a wonderful mother."


IF BRENNA TRULY IS DAVID LEE ROTH'S DAUGHTER
(because people have written to me in disagreement),
THEN THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY THIS PRETTY LIL'BABY GIRL LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!!

(http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=18951069&albumID=69082&imageID=5017552)

"I do want to be more conservative now that I’ll be a wife and a mother."

>>>
Luke: "How long have you been together with your future husband?"

Brenna: "Five weeks. We’re probably getting married in Bloomington next weekend."

(FYI: Bloomington, Indiana is David Lee Roth's birthplace)

Where Are They Now:
(June 2006) Cleveland, OH

(September 2006) Studio City, CA

(August 2007) Canton, OH

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2260940/bio


BFN,
XOXO TTownRobin

Saturday, October 6, 2007

3 more days till VAN HALEN!!


The new Van Halen website: Fall tour dates posted.



"Tickets for the first Van Halen tour in more than 22 years with David Lee Roth went on sale in mid-August, resulting in immediate sell out dates in markets nationwide.

The reinvigorated band’s new website, www.van-halen.com, notes that the new “25 percent more Van Halen” lineup of Eddie Van Halen, son Wolfgang Van Halen, brother Alex Van Halen and original vocalist Roth will embark on a 29-date North American tour beginning Sept. 27 in Charlotte, N.C., and continuing at least through mid-December.

Tour promoter Live Nation is continuing to add dates; continually updated concert and ticketing information can be found on the new Van Halen website and on www.livenation.com. Details on the ultimate Van Halen concert experience, including pre-show parties, backstage access, premium seating and more, can be found online at www.iloveallaccess.com...

...Few acts have attained such an impressive track record. Van Halen has twice received the Recording Industry Association of America Diamond Award, presented to artists for album sales of 10 million or more units. Earning the award for Van Halen and for 1984 put the band on an elite list of two-time Diamond Award honorees, a feat seldom equaled in music business history.

Van Halen is also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having more number-one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart than any band in history. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GO TO http://www.lyricsfreak.com/v/van+halen/
for lyrics to all the Van Halen songs - if you want to be sure to sing the right words to them at the concert!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


We're in Section 4 on the floor!


The Quicken Loans Arena
One Center Court
Cleveland, OH 44115
Phone: (216) 263-7625
4 Reviews | Write a Review Giant Cavern = Bad Show 10/04/2002 Posted by rshields41

The only thing this venue has going for it lots of seating. Unless you're in the first few rows, however, you might as well stay home and watch a videotaped concert... it will be better! Arenas are meant for sports, not music! There is not intimacy or ambiance, and the only shows that can hope to play well here are high energy, big name shows... and even those would be better in a smaller place. And any venue that sells food cannot be taken seriously by a real concert goer.

Pros: Ample Seating, Easy Access, Good Parking

Cons: No Character, Cavernous, Expensive


Write a review and share your thoughts with others
(TTR - I WILL ADD MY TAKE ON THIS AFTER OCTOBER 10, 2007..)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group's setlist so far, has been as follows:

Setlist:

01. You Really Got Me (from Van Halen, 1978)
02. I'm the One (from Van Halen, 1978)
03. Runnin' With the Devil (from Van Halen, 1978)
04. Romeo Delight (from Women and Children First, 1980)
05. Somebody Get Me a Doctor (from Van Halen II, 1979)
06. Beautiful Girls (from Van Halen II, 1979)
07. Dance the Night Away (from Van Halen II, 1979)
08. Atomic Punk (from Van Halen, 1978)
09. Everybody Wants Some (from Women and Children First, 1980)
10. So This Is Love? (from Fair Warning, 1981)
11. Mean Street (from Fair Warning, 1981)
12. Pretty Woman (from Diver Down, 1982)
13. Drum Solo
14. Unchained (from Fair Warning, 1981)
15. I'll Wait (from 1984, 1984)
16. And the Cradle Will Rock (from Women and Children First, 1980)
17. Hot for Teacher (from 1984, 1984)
18. Little Dreamer (from Van Halen, 1978)
19. Little Guitars (from Diver Down, 1982)
20. Jamie's Cryin' (from Van Halen, 1978)
21. Ice Cream Man (from Van Halen, 1978)
22. Panama (from 1984, 1984)
23. Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption")
24. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (from Van Halen, 1978)

Encore

25. 1984 (from 1984, 1984)
26. Jump (from 1984, 1984)


MAKE YOUR OWN SET LIST BY DLing (LIVE CONCERTS TOO!) FROM LIMEWIRE: http://www.limewire.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHECK THIS OUT:
It's dropping from 91 degrees today down to about 52 by Thursday! How the hell can a woman pack for this trip? Now I gotta start all over. Shit.

Tonight Tomorrow Wed Thu Fri
Extended Forecast

Mostly Clear:Tonight
Tues:AM Showers - Low: 69° High: 71°
Wed: PM Showers - Low: 49° High: 57°
Thurs: Showers Low: 56° High: 59°
Fri: Low: 51° High: 54°
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.evhgear.com/news/

WHERE I LEARNED THAT I MISSED EDDIE AT THE PHOENIX INT'L SPEEDWAY NASCAR RACE IN APRIL 2007!!

"It was a weekend for checkered flags and striped guitars.

In one of his first public appearances since a highly publicized March 2007 rehab stint, rock guitar legend and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Van Halen attended the NASCAR Subway Fresh Fit 500 race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) in Arizona over the weekend of April 20-21, where he served as an honorary race official and unveiled two new guitars.

At a press conference that Friday, Van Halen—looking tanned, happy and healthy—unveiled the EVH Frankenstein™ guitar replica, a Fender-built limited edition recreation of the unusually striped DIY instrument he made famous during Van Halen the band’s meteoric rise to rock superstardom in the late 1970s and ’80s. The other guitar was a custom Fender Stratocaster® that would be presented to the winner of the NASCAR race that Saturday.

As an honorary race official, Van Halen helped officially greet and introduce the more than 40 drivers in Saturday’s race. Further, the famous guitarist suited up for a “hot lap” on Friday, taking a speedy spin around the track at PIR with NASCAR driver Kurt Busch.



“I am honored on behalf of EVH brand guitars, amps, and musical products to be invited to such an exciting and fun event,” Van Halen said. “I feel privileged to be working with such amazing organizations like Phoenix International Raceway, their NASCAR event, and Fender.”

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber said he was “personally delighted that Eddie Van Halen accepted our invitation to join us as our honorary race official for the Subway Fresh Fit 500.”

“It was a thrill for the drivers and fans to have Eddie at Phoenix International Raceway for the NASCAR weekend,” Sperber added.

Fender President Matt Janopaul presented NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon with the custom Stratocaster after Gordon won the race from the pole, delighting fans and ending a 21-race streak of non-pole winners at PIR. Another custom Stratocaster was presented to 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup winner Jimmie Johnson."
(TTR - MY GUY!! JIMMIE! COOL!)



http://www.evhgear.com/news/index.php?display_article=6

Check out this pic!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This song sounds to me like The Van Halen boys may have lived in Toledo a while back:

Mean Street

Written by:
Edward Van Halen, David Lee Roth,
Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen.
© 1981 Van Halen Music ASCAP.
All Rights Reserved.
---
At night I walk this stinkin' street
Past the crazies on my block
And I see the same old faces
And I hear that same old talk

And I'm searching for the latest thing
A break in this routine
I'm talkin' some new kicks
Ones like you ain't never seen
This is home
This is Meanstreet
It's our home
The only one I know

And we don't worry 'bout tomorrow
Cause we're sick of these four walls
Now what'd ya think is nothing
Might be something after all
Now you know this ain't no through street
The end is dead ahead
The poor folks play for keeps down here
They're the living dead
Come on down
Down to Meanstreet
They're dancing now
Out on Meanstreet
It's always here and now, my friend
It ain't once upon a time
It's all over but the shouting
I'll come and I'll take what's mine
We're searching for the latest thing
A break in this routine
Talkin' some new kicks
Ones like you ain't never seen
This is home
This is Meanstreet
It's our home
Only one I know
(This is home) See, a gun is real easy
(This is Meanstreet) In this desperate part of town
(This is home) Turns you from hunted into hunter
(This is Meanstreet) Go and hunt somebody down
(This is home) But hear me now, somebody said "Fair Warning, Lord !"
(This is Meanstreet) Lord, strike that poor boy down

CHECK OUT THE PICS FROM THE TOUR SO FAR AT THIS BLOGS-N-ROSES BLOG!
http://blogsnroses.com/2007/10/05/van-halen-philadelphia-night-two-concert-review.aspx

Hopefully, I might have a few of my own in a few days...I sure as hell do not want to be ushered out because of getting caught with a camera..I read that it's already happened at one or two of the shows..

THis pic is pretty cool- saw it in Photobucket:\



HOPE TO MEET A FEW OF YA THERE! If you see me be sure to day HI!

XOXO TTownRobin

PS. THIS PIC IS NOT FROM BLOGS-N_ROSES..I found it on PhotoBucket.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

This is an EAST SIDE white-trash story, but Toledo needs to know..


DO YOU KNOW "KEL"?

This morning at 6 am, on Saturday, September 29th, a wasted dyed-blond, trash-mouthed 29 year old ** named KEL ** (petite about a size 3**) with thick lips and a weather-worn, partied-out face, broke into my back door, after coming out of my screen room screaming to let her in to let her go "pee".
She was yelling and calling me every name in the book at the top of her lungs and not one neighbor came out to help me. The men (who act like spoiled boys) neighbors on my right side were up with the lights on and they didn't even come over after it was and said and done to see if we were alright.
**The white trash down the street a few houses from the Bowling Alley came down about 1:45 to see if I knew where she went because the tramp left her little (around) 3 year old at their house and had not been in touch or come back to get her, as well as her purse (full of make-up only**) and her jeans were still hanging from the outside of my fence along the sidewalk (that she took off out on my sidewalk evidently before she came in my house with just her white cotton undies and t-shirt on), but JUST before they came to ask me this, the jeans disappeared.

This was about 1:30 this afternoon...(same day)

I looked out the front door, and there the tramp was, talking to the 13 year old that she had gone out partying with the night before, the mother, and sister, handing over her daughter to her in a stroller. As soon as she saw me, she took off down the street with the stroller and the daughter in tow. I followed her for 6 blocks, up White Street, then nvada, then Plymouth, then Willard, taking her picture with the digital the entire way. I was determined to find out where she lived or hung out at because it was evident that the police were going to do absolutely nothing about her break-in. I finally got up to the area of Idaho and Willard, and she had hid somewhere there..and learned from the mother of the 13 year old that that is where her girlfriend lives and where she hangs out.

When the police FINALLY came back a 2nd time (about an HOUR after 3 of us called about her...oh it was longer than that...THEY GOT HERE AT 5:00 PM!!) they said they would drive over to that area and see if they saw her. WELL DUH! Who with any brains (especially a white-trash girl who had already lost 3 of her kids, and must be familiar with the law) whatsoever would stay in a place with the one kid they have left (that isn't in Child Protective Services out of the 4 total she has**) knowing that so many of us had called the police and that I knew where she had gone and had a picture of what she looked like.

So yeah.
She'll be back.
And I'll be ready.

She threatened to kick my ass, and I have no intention of starting anything with her. She will end up here one day again, wasted, and that time something will happen. There may just be a body - either her's or mine.

I refuse to allow this to just drop. She terrorized my child, broke all the screens on the street side of my house and broke the front and back doors as well as the screen room door. They're trashed. I don't have the money to fix them! And the officer this morning said, "well, if you find out who she is through Block Watch or something, then you can press charges", and he took a report of some of the damage..I found more damage after he left) just because some waste-case chose my house randomly to be the one where the white-trash tramp decided to want to go to the bathroom at.
HOW IN THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND OUT HER LAST NAME AND ADDRESS!!?? THAT'S THEIR JOB!!
THIS IS BULL SHIT!

I never claimed to be a vigilante. But when no one will tell you her last name, (even the MOM who claimed to have given that girl a"all her money and she lost it our of her pants pocket' (WHY WOULD SHE GIVE A TRASHY GIRL WHOSE LAST NAME SHE DID NOT KNOW< ALL HER MONEY??? WHAT DO YOU THINK??? I CAN PRETTY MUCH TELL YOU WHY IF YOU DON'T FIGURE IT OUT) but everyone in the neighborhood knows her...I refuse to be a victim again.

And with the dispatcher for the police dawdling around asking stupid questions, my phone number TWICE, my spelling of my FIRST AND LASTNAME JUST WASTING TIME!! WHILE THAT GIRL WAS SCREAMING SO LOUD THAT THE DISPATCHER COULD BARELY HEAR ME - I KEP SAYING SEND THEM NOW _ I'LL GIVE YOU THE REST _ JUST PLEASE DISPATCH THEM NOW and she wouldn't until she was all done taking information..when my child is screaming and crying - I will never wait on them or depend on them again. I'm done.

One of us could have been lying in the road by the time the officers got here the second time (AN ENTIRE HOUR!! AFTER I TOLD THE DISPATCHER I HAD BEEN THREATENED! THEY DROVE RIGHT BY ME AND WAVED AND WENT TO ANOTHER CALL!) I can't wait for them anymore.

We are virtually ON OUR OWN PEOPLE and everyone needs to make sure they have a weapon to protect their homes and their children in case someone comes into YOUR HOME and then comes back and threatens you like what happened to me. I have protection - do you? All it would have taken was one more footstep into my door...(of course I could have dragged her in, but I was trying to give the drug-addicted-whore the benefit of the doubt)...At the time, I actually felt sorry for her. Not any more.

STAY INVOLVED WITH YOUR LOCAL BLOCKWATCH BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DEPEND ON EACH OTHER FOR HELP (like the wonderful neighbor that came by in her car to help me find that girl when I was on foot). We can't sepend on our law enforcement, especially with the budget cuts adn the fact that we have ONE UNIT from 7 pm to 7 am. If they need another one, it has to come from Downtown. LIKE THEY CAN SPACE A UNIT!

IF SOMEONE COMES INTO YOUR HOUSE YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO PROTECT YOURSELF. DONT WAIT AROUND FOR THE POLICE TO DO IT. They might not ever show up at all.

I found out also that the girl went into another man's house before mine and he pushed her out too, but not without a fight**

Everything with the stars behind it ** I found out from the 13 year old girl "Jordan", that the 29 year old girl went out with, or her mother. NICE, HUH? A 29 year old went out with a 13 year old. And they kept the baby of the girl that they didn't even know what her last name was..(When I moved in 6 yrs. ago, the 13 year old was 7 and was smoking cigarettes on the corner and cussing like a sailor, an I wouldn't let my child assocoate with her. When I told the mother, nothing happened or changed.)

I used to love East Toledo. I FOUGHT to make it nice. But today is one of my bad days. I could tell you so much more. But I'd rather go to bed and start all over again tomorrow. Today sucked.

Keep up that East Side Pride!!
That old fashioned TOLEDO PRIDE!!!
Toledo can take a big suck of my ass today. I'm tired of beating a dead horse.

Later,
TTR

If you give last name or info leading to her arrest, there will be a reward:
GO YOU KNOW THIS GIRL NAMED "KEL"?

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Trippin' all over the place! STYX is coming to TOLEDO TOO!


I feel bad for this un-Christian-like thought I am about to share, but I've been DYING to get here to type it and get it off my chest:
I heard on the television gossip-type show that BARRY MANILOW refused to appear on (the show that gets me out of bed on my non-appointment days) "THE VIEW" today, because "(Elisabeth Hasselbeck) is angry and offensive". They stated that he is a good friend of ROSIE O'DONNELL and that because of the crap that went on to cause ROSIE'S departure, he may have possibly formed this opinion.
I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!

I feel that Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a self-righteous twit, that thinks she knows everything, but is so immature and so boxed-in that she can't see (not does she attempt to see) past the nose on her face! There are actually days that I just can't watch THE VIEW, because she annoys me so much. 'Just the look on her face when she speaks sometimes: she reminds me of the miss perfects from school that the guys all liked, but ended up being sluts in private. (DO not take that as a jealous comment - I honestly never was. I always wanted to walk up and slap those types of girls in the face)...
ANYWAY. I am so very happy that SOMEONE publicly took a stand and said something derogatory against Elisabeth in public.
Now that that's out...

AND BY THE BY; A BIG OL' WELCOME FROM ME - TTOWNROBIN TO WOOPI GOLDBERG AND SHERRI SHEPHERD TO THE VIEW!! WHAT AN AWESOME ADDITION. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SHERRI, BUT I MUST SAY the more I listen to her, the more I think she and Elisabeth will be good friends because they are both so NIEVE!! Sherri has said she would tell her (new baby) son about sex around the time he turns 14..DUH!!
Get with the program girlfriend! And that she thinks its ok to walk around nekkid in front of your son till he's 8 yrs. old. (They were talking about the new crap that came up in the Britney Spears custody case regarding what a former bodyguard said about Britney walking around naked in front of her two sons - NOW THAT"S STUPID!! THEY ARE LIKE 8 MONTHS AND 2 YEARS OLD!! TALK ABOUT TAKING SEX STUFF WITH PARENTS AND CHILDREN TOO FAR! OMG!! THAT BURNS MY ASS. WHAT'S NEXT...THAT WE CAN'T DICIPLINE OUR CHILDREN?? THAT WE HAVE TO LET THEM ALLOW THEIR OWN INTELLIGENCE RAISE THEMSELVES!!..GYOD!!)
This poor woman needs to get out more..Sherri, that is. DEFINITELY NOT BRITNEY. She gets out way too much. I really enjoy everyone's her funny comments and her attitudes that's on THE VIEW: Barbara,(well she kind of attacked Sherri about her not believing in Evolution today which I thought was TOTALLY UNNECESSARY, and uncharacteristic of Barbara as well...), Joy, Whoopi, all EXCEPT Elisabeth's.
And I DO STILL miss Rosie, even if she was LOUD and overbearing. I just like the woman. I wish she still had her afternoon talk show.
And while I'm mentioning it: I miss Tony Danza's talk show too. I don't care for all the fluff that has become Ellen's (I used to LOVE the Ellen show! Now I watch OPRAH if I am indoors at 4 pm)


HERE'S THE STORY ABOUT THE SHOW THAT DAY:
http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/18/people/main3272052.shtml

JOY BEHAR IS MY FAVORITE "VIEW" hostess and will always be.
I really would love to get a copy of her new book:


Here's more info about it:
http://books.google.com/books?id=iXpSAAAACAAJ&dq=&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Djoy%2Bbehar%2Bbook%26btnG%3DSearch&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=3

You can purchase it through AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307351718


MORE INFO AT: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=20391
AND:
abc.go.com/daytime/theview/show.html

SPEAKING OF BARRY MANILOW: I just caught on CBS news a story about people, mostly teens, that are ticketed for a noise ordinance in Fort Lupton, Colorado being punished by having to sit through an hour or so of loud music that might be offensive them THEM! Such as, Manilow, the Barney Theme song, Dolly Parton among many others. I LOVE IT!! TOLEDO POLICE TAKE NOTE!! Do you have ANY IDEA how many times I have had to attempt to close my windows to be able to hear on the telephone, due to the LOUD RAP MUSIC (WITH VERY OFFENSIVE WORDS I MIGHT ADD) because of lingering cars at the 4-way stop outside my front door!! AWESOME PUNISHMENT! RIGHT ON!

NOW ABOUT THE TOPIC IN MY HEADING>>>>
It wasn't bad enough that I had to try to overcome the disappointment that I couldn't go see JOHN MELLENCAMP here in Toledo at the Seagate Centre on November 2nd...I get the Sunday paper from my neighbor (who is so kind to bring it over to me, but I'm afraid to take it in the house because he mentioned one day that he had cockroaches so bad that they woke him up every couple hours (ICK!) so I have to either read it outdoors or throw it away)...(all it takes is ONE!) that STYX is also appearing here in Toledo at the Stranahan Theater!! The tickets start 20.00 less than Mellencamp's do but are also for that price, up in a balcony. I'll bet it's going to be a theatrical extravaganza, being held st the Stranahan! If I ABSOLUTELY HAD to pick between the two, I might pick STYX, merely for the fact that when I saw JOHN MELLENCAMP front row center, it cannot be topped. And seeing him again COULD tarnish that memory. HOWEVER, STYX - now that was my FIRST concert back in 1977.

They appeared at the Sports Arena as a back-up band to URIAH HEEP. Then I saw them again when I lived in Pensacola. We saw them at a small auditorium in Mobile, Alabama, and I was too drunk to remember most of the show but I do remember that I had a good time...THIS TIME, I would LOVE to take my daughter. She know some of the songs from being raised with them since her father and I both enjoy the band's music...oh sure, she'd rather see DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, but if I had the money to take her, she would be going for my benefit and the fact that I would like for her to have the STYX life-altering experience.
Here's the link to help YOU get tickets, and if you even sorta like me, just invite me, I would LOVE TO GO with you!! If you can afford another ticket, that is! Nosebleed would be acceptable. They're only $36.50....





Styx

Stranahan Theater, Toledo, OH

Fri, Oct 26, 2007 08:00 PM


http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/08003F16EE588953?artistid=736216&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

US $36.50 - US $56.50

Internet Onsale Info

Onsale to General Public:

Fri, 09/07/07 10:00 AM EDT

PACIFIC COAST PRESENTS: STYX - WWW.STYXWORLD.COM



Well I had more to say but I'm getting an error message that I only have a 200 character limit, so TTFN! XO TTR (Gees o'petes!)

Sunday, September 9, 2007

FINALLY! I found the Pemberville Fall Festival Information! AND MORE!!

If you like old-fashioned Fall festivals, complete with the historic tours and the buggy rides, this one was a blast the last time I went, two years ago.
If any of you go, please let me know what you did and your thoughts!


Here's the date, details, and web site:

Pemberville’s Autumn Fest on the River

(Address? not found yet, the main drag I suppose) & Phone:
Downtown Pemberville
Pemberville, OH 43450
419-287-3274

Hours:
9am- 5pm

Description:
Pemberville has become famous for hosting this special historical day! This festival will feature historical reenactments, living historians, specialty foods, and demonstrating artisans. The Opera House will be featuring special, surprise performances starting at 11am and running at the top of each hour with the last show starting at 3pm. Sponsored by the Pemberville Freedom Area Historical Society.

Tickets:
Free.

Reservations:
Reservations not required.

Dates:
10/27/2007

~~~~~~~~~~~
http://consumer.discoverohio.com/searchdetails.aspx?detail=49701
~~~~~~~~~~~
Pemberville Autumn Fest Craft Show

Address & Phone:
Pemberville’s American Legion Hall/ Pemberville School
405 E. Front St.
Pemberville, OH 43450
419-287-4000

Hours:
9am-5pm

Description:
Sponsored by the American Legion Post 183 Marching Units. This craft show will feature over 60 craftsmen!

Tickets:
Free.

Reservations:
Reservations not required.

Dates:
10/27/2007

~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.aroundrr.com/Calendar/viewEvent.asp?ID=35072
http://www.aroundrr.com/Calendar/EventList.asp?cat=Community&date=10/27/2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~

HERE IS ANOTHER EXCELLENT COUNTRY FESTIVAL NOT TOo FAR FROM TOLEDO:


LUCKY FALL FESTIVAL 2007 FESTIVAL DATES: SEPTEMBER 28, 29, 30


Luckey Fall Festival located between Krotzer Ave. (St. Rt. 582) and Gilbert Road on Adams St., in Luckey, Ohio

Enjoy an old time fall festival weekend!

RAFFLE TICKETS for CASH PRIZES!!
ALL DRAWINGS AT CLOSE OF FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY

LIMITED NON-EXHIBITOR CAMPING $20/WEEKEND

CRAFT DISPLAYS and FLEA MARKET on FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY

GAS ENGINES and TRACTOR DISPLAY on FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY


Featured Tractor
1923 John Deere Model E

Featured Gas Engines

1953 John Deere Model 40

NO HOOK UPS AVAILABLE
PRE-REGISTRATION ENCOURAGED FOR FLEA MARKET
20x20 SPACES $25

2008 FESTIVAL DATES: SEPTEMBER 26, 27, 28


http://www.luckeyfallfestival.com/index.htm

Sept. 28-30: 25th Annual Luckey Fall Festival, between Krotzer Ave. (SR 582) and Gilbert Road on Adams St., in Luckey. An old time fall festival weekend featuring entertainment, horseshoe pitch, steam engine hobo dinner, raffles, camping, craft displays and flea market, gas engines and tractor display and more. Info: www.luckeyfallfestival.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.presspublications.com/pages/entertainment04.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~

HERE'S SOME OTHER GOOD ONES COMING UP!! MAN! I wish I had more money....and A CAR!


Sept. 9: 50th Annual Sylvania Arts and Crafts Festival, Lourdes College, Sylvania. 9:30 am to 4 p.m. www.sylvaniachamber.org. (CRAP MISSED THIS ONE AGAIN THIS YEAR - THIS IS THE BEST CRAFT SHOW IN THE TOLEDO AREA - HANDS DOWN!!)


Sept. 11: Music in the Park, Friendship Park, Lake Township. 6:30 to 8 p.m. hot dogs, brats, root beer floats and pop available. Bring a lawn chair. Genoa American Legion Band will perform in commemoration of 9/11.

Sept. 14-16: Clyde Country Fair, downtown Clyde, Clyde, Ohio. Fri. 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday from noon to midnight; Sun. noon to 7 p.m. Home of Ohio’s largest running street go-kart race. Free nightly entertainment, rides, crafts, and food. Free admission. Info: 419-547-7672 or www.sanduskycounty.org.

Sept. 14-16: Toledo Irish-American Festival, International Park, downtown Toledo. Friday 6 p.m. to midnight; Saturday 2 p.m. to midnight; Sunday noon to 9 p.m. Annual festival featuring great Irish music, entertainment, food and Irish wares.

Sept. 14-Oct. 28: HalloWeekends 2007, Cedar Point, Sandusky. The thrills of the world's biggest collection of coasters combine with spooky chills and monstrous fun for little ones for a great holiday event for seven spectacular weekends. This is a fun family-friendly event--there's even a kids' funhouse and Children's Costume Contest. Info: cedarpoint.com.

Sept. 15: Genoa Street Fair, Genoa . Chili Cook Off, entertainment, food booths, vendors, crafters, car show, farmer's market and much more. Info: Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce at 419-855-2001.

Sept. 15:Harrison Rally Day Community Festival, downtown Perrysburg. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A parade, crafts, food, music and more. 419-874-2816.

Sept. 15: Woodville Lime Fest, downtown Woodville. all day event. The fall festival originated in 1983 to celebrate the village's slogan, "Woodville -The Lime Capital of the World" and to promote business in Woodville. The festival features sidewalk sales, craft sales, refreshments, entertainment and, of course Martin- Marietta’s famous "Guess the weight of the Rock." Info: 419-332-4470 or www.sanduskycounty.org.

Sept. 15: Pigeon Show, Sandusky County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, corner of Rawson and North St., Fremont. 8 a.m.

Breeding season is over and it is time to determine the year’s best. Also a swamp of surplus stock. Info: Larry E. Gardner at 419-483-3484 www.sanduskycountyfair.com.

Sept. 15: New Year's Eve at the Bay, Put-in-Bay . Holiday festivities and Monte Carlo Street games downtown, 6 to 11pm. www.put-in-bay.com.

Sept. 15: Sorrowful Mother Shrine’s Feast of the Sorrowful Mother, Sorrowful Mother Shrine, SR 269 six miles south of downtown Bellevue, O. 11 a.m. Mass and a special devotional schedule honoring the Sorrowful Mother. Info: 419-483-3435 or www.sorrowfulmothershrine.com.

Sept. 15: New Fremont Speedway Races , New Fremont Speedway/Sandusky County Fairgrounds, corner of Rawson Ave. and North St, Fremont. 4:30 to 11:30 p.m. True Value of Woodville night featuring ALMS late models, 305s and trucks. Information 419-333-0478 or www.fremontohspeedway.com.

Sept. 15: Millbury Firemen’s Association 34 th Annual Ox Roast Parade, parade at noon, car show, auction at 1:30 p.m., beef and chicken dinners, poker, bingo, kids’ rides, games, pop and beer, free live county dance with “Swing Shift Band). Main Street, Millbury. Sponsored by the Millbury Fireman’s Assn.

Sept. 22: Roche de Boeuf Festival, downtown Waterville, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Music, crafts, food, and more. 419-878-5188.

Sept. 22: Dog Days of September, Lucas County Fairgrounds, Key Street Maumee. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A combination picnic, festival with contests and games, art and entertainment and live music all centering around the family dog.

Sept. 22: Antique Car Show, Toledo Zoo, 2700 Broadway St. Toledo. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Get a close-up view of historic model Ts and Model As and meet some of the people who own them. 419-385-4040 or www.toledozoo.org.

Sept. 25-29: Annual Apple Butter Making, Historic Sauder Village, 22611 SR 2, Archbold. Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the 31st consecutive year, guests can watch as we boil the cider down, add the thinly sliced apples and then cook them in copper kettles over an open fire. 800-590-9755 or www.saudervillage.org.

Sept. 28-30: Harvest Festival, Port Clinton. Downtown. Food, vendors, music and more. 419-734-5503 or www.portclintonchamber.com.

Sept. 28-30: 25th Annual Luckey Fall Festival, between Krotzer Ave. (SR 582) and Gilbert Road on Adams St., in Luckey. An old time fall festival weekend featuring entertainment, horseshoe pitch, steam engine hobo dinner, raffles, camping, craft displays and flea market, gas engines and tractor display and more. Info: www.luckeyfallfestival.com.

Sept. 29-30:Perrysburg Pow Wow- They Walked Here Before Us: A Woodland Indian Celebration,” Black Swamp Intertribal Foundation, Perrysburg. Saturday 10 a.m. to dusk; Sunday 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 29: Elmore Autumn Festival. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Car show, craft show, motorcycle toy run, food, refreshments, Battle of the Bands, kiddie game tent, trolley rides, and more. www.villageofelmore.com.

~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.presspublications.com/pages/entertainment04.asp
~~~~~~~~~~

TTFN!! TTR xoxo

Sharing Toledo area FALL FESTIVAL info (since I'm trying to find a ride for myself!)

The Fall festival to end all festivals is in GRAND RAPIDS, OHIO...the APPLE BUTTER FESTIVAL ! I did a search (and put out an APB on a MySpace bulletin to see who I knew was going to get a ride along with them!) So that all of you can enjoy it as well, here is all the information that I found:


THIS YEAR IS WILL BE HELD ON:
Sunday October 14, 2007

I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO GET THERE EARLY! Otherwise, you'll be parking way in the back of a muddy field. There are shuttle buses that take you into town, and port-a-potties in every section of the parking "field". But if you get there by 8:30 am, you MIGht be ablw to park close enough to avoid the mud, the mosquitos, the shuttle buses and the extremely long lines at the apple butter vat and selling table.(in town near the fire station).

Applebutter
Country Crafts
Demonstrators
Entertainment
Farm Displays
Flea Market
Food
Music
Re-enactment Groups
And Much More!

TO FIND aLL OF THIS INFO, GO TO: The Applebutterfest at:
http://www.applebutterfest.org/applebutterfest.htm

You can get info about ALL the events that occur in Grand Rapids, Ohio by going to:
http://www.grandrapidsohio.com/Events.htm
Hope to see you there!

TTownRobin

Sunday, September 2, 2007

VAN HALEN 2007 TOUR - thanks to my brother, IM GOING


....CLEVELAND OCTOBER 10, 2007: I'm so excited I could cry.

Making a poster to take, thinking about what to wear, I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT.

Anyone else going?
I can share some awesome tracks with you to help get you psyched up!
LET ME KNOW!

OH AND WHAT A RELIEF

...after I read this story, I don't feel so bad about going to a concert and racking out at 48:


Photo Caption: Eddie Van Halen, Acting His Age


As we grow older, so do our icons. Suddenly the latest "hot young things" seem barely legal (Keira Knightley, Lindsey Lohan) and Keith Richards' decomposition is finally somewhat age appropriate.

And, although apt to grumble about our own advancing years, we also make excuses for ourselves. We don't tend to be as forgiving of our objects of idolization. If they show their age, we mercilessly take note of every sag, every wrinkle. If they try to hide it with makeup, dye or surgery we tend to disparage their refusal grow old gracefully. In short, we want it both ways. We seem to expect our icons to always just shine on as is, forgetting that the camera can be unkind to someone who has lived in front of the flash for a few decades.


(AP)Still, it was jaw-droppingly upsetting to see this photo of Eddie Van Halen come across the wires from Sunday's Oscar after parties.

This is almost too much to bear. 1984 - both the album and the year - may have been two decades ago, but in 1984 Eddie Van Halen was generally agreed to be the hot Van Halen brother (sorry, Alex)... at least around my junior high. And he is over a decade younger than the afore-mentioned Mr. Richards (who has been considered the extreme example of an aging rocker for about a century now).

At 51, Van Halen has had a rough past decade or so. He lost his mom, split with wife of 24 years Valerie Bertinelli, battled alcoholism and cancer and weathered so many reconfigurations of Van Halen that even I'm drained. Also, he's never traded on his looks; he staked his claim on his guitar wizardry.

This time, let's give him a pass -- let's remember Eddie in 1984 and remember that after what he's been through, he's a survivor in 2006. But maybe we can have it both ways. We can agree to look at Eddie with a forgiving eye, but maybe Eddie could agree to tame the hair, see a good dentist and stand up straight. And maybe we can hope, just a little, that the rumors about Van Halen being the next "Rock Star" reality band are true.

FROM: blog.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2006/03... by Liz | March 7, 2006; 11:00 AM ET | Category: Celebrities

UPDATE!


WELL LIZ, YOU REALLY SHOULD DO A RETRACTION REGARDING THAT POST BECAUSE HE DID CLEAN UP QUITE NICELY, AND LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THE 51 YEAR OLD WELL-TO-DO MEN THAT I SEE:



Being the "East-sider" that I am, I have to admit, that I kinda liked him the other way. It sounds terrible, but at least with him looking a little less rich, that I just might have a chance of him asking me out on a date! I do prefer the long hair anyway. 'Always have, always will.
GEES O'PETES. I'm going to bed.
TTFN
TTownRobin

Friday, August 31, 2007

TOLEDO LABOR DAY WEEKEND INFO (Fireworks and parade only)

NIGHT OF SEPT. 2: ADDING IN - UPDATE REGARDING THE FIREWORKS


WELL THEY TRULY OUTDID THEMSELVES. THE FIREWORKS STARTED AT 9:50 (half way between what the Toledo Blade said and what the Citifest website said..), THEY LASTED A FULL HALF AN HOUR, THEY ADDED IN @ NEW TYPES, AND THEY FAKED US OUT WITH A FINALE AT THE 20 MINUTE POINT< THEN PROCEEDED TO BUST OUR CHOPS FOR ANOTHER 10 MINUTES WITH CONSTANT POPPING< BANGING< COLORS AND PURE AMAZEMENT. THANKS CITY OF TOLEDO.
Punk'n and I had a wonderful time!
The Labor Day parade is tomorrow (I hope I got it right!) at 9 am., and it's 3 am. right now. We have to take the stupid bus to get down there, so we have to leave by 8 am. I don't thiunk my daughter attitude is going to be "parad-y", but she's better not ruin it for me, since she chose to let me go to the fireworks with THE DOG!

Nitey Nite! TTR xoxo

I FINALLY TRACKED DOWN A TINY BIT OF INFO ABOUT THE TOLEDO LABOR DAY 2007 PARADE (Yes, there WILL BE ONE)
thanks to the Tarta Bus website and the updates that i get from them. They wrote in their newsletter about the streets that will be blocked for the labor Day Parade in downtown Toledo on Monday. So here a copy of what I received:

SEND SUMMER OUT WITH A BANG AT RIVERFEST 2007!!

To celebrate our 20th year of Rockin' the Riverfront at Promenade Park, Citifest is proud to present one of your favorite Rally by the River performers - EDDIE MONEY!

After the concert, Citifest and Colonial Fireworks are proud to present the:

Pandemonium VIII Fireworks

One of the largest fireworks shows in Northwest Ohio.
Colonial Fireworks takes out all of the stops for this end-of-the-season fireworks
spectacular - easily bigger and better than even their 4th of July show!!
(IT BETTER BE BETTER THAN THE 4th! THAT ONE ON THE 4th of JULY ONLY LASTED 20 MINUTES!!)

The downtown skyline will be lit with the largest fireworks display in Toledo history!
Festival Goers can tune into Cumulus Radio Stations to hear the fireworks music simulcast.


Downtown TARTA Routes detoured for Labor Day Parade.

On Labor Day, Monday, September 4, all TARTA routes will operate on a holiday schedule.

ALSO FOUND ON THE UAW UNION WEBSITE ABOUT THE LABOR DAY PARADE:

The following detours will be in effect beginning at 6:30 a.m. due to the Labor Day Parade being held downtown Toledo: (see www.tarta.com)

Ohio UAW Local 12, Toledo

Local 12 will march in Toledo's Labor Day parade. The parade begins at 9 a.m. After the parade Local 12 members will enjoy a gathering at their union hall.
For more information: call Bruce Baumhower at: 419.241.4474.

THIS IS THE INFO THAT I GOT ON TIMES FOR THE DAY OF THE FIREWORKS FROM THE TOLEDO BLADE (http://www.toledoblade.com):

First band - sorry, I forgot

Eddie Money: 8 pm - $5.00 to get in - no coolers allowed

Fireworks: In the paper it said 10 pm, which is the usual time, but on the Citifest site it says 9:30 pm...so please be sure to go early. The best spots to be able to come late and still get a good place to lay your blanket or se up your chairs are across the river from the Citifest activities (Promenade Park), on the East Side, at International Park. Parking there in the past has been free, but of course you have to come early to get a spot right there in International Park. They only have an ice cream truck as far as vendors for food and drink and a bottled water was $2.00 in the past. (BRING YOUR OWN SNACKS). There were only 2 port-a-potties at the last fireworks on the International Park side so go before you leave if you're coming over to the East Side.

WARNING - THE LAST FIREWORKS ONLY LASTED 20 MINUTES. I SUSPECT THESE WILL BE 1/2 HOUR - TOPS. IF YOU ARE COMING FROM OUT OF TOWN - you might want to check out somewhere closer...don't take for granted that we have the best fireworks just because we are a larger city. I hate to say it, but we've been ripped off for the last 3 FIREWORKS. The ones you can see at the end of the Mud Hens games downtown were better than the Fourth of July fireworks..My friend drove from Swanton, an hour away, and I still haven't heard the end of it, I'm sure. She won't ever chance it now and come with me to the fireworks again. THANKS TOLEDO FOR THE HEADS UP!!

By the way - I need someone to go see them with, anyone want to drag me along?

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ALL THAT IS MENTIONED ANYWHERE IN THE TOLEDO WEBSITES AND ON GOOGLE, ABOUT TOLEDO'S LABOR DAY PARADE! WHAT A SHAM!
Our Toledo laborers deserve better! I'm going!

Hope to see you there, clapping, waving, and smiling, and showing that we appreciate each other!!
Luv, TTownRobin xoxo

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

TMZleaked it wrong! DANCING WITH THE STARS will only have ONE 90210 Alum!

This time I got the info from the actual source - and I apologise to anyone who passed my prior announcement as fact. Here are the actual participants for the 2007-2008 season of Dancing With The Stars:
The Complete Lineup:
Melanie Brown, aka "Scary Spice" and Mel B of the Spice Girls.
Sabrina Bryan, singer-actress, Disney Channel's "Cheetah Girls."
Helio Castroneves, Indianapolis 500 champion.
Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner.
Actress Jennie Garth, actress ("Beverly Hills, 90210").
Josie Maran, model-actress.
Cameron Mathison, actor ("All My Children").
Floyd Mayweather, Welterweight boxing champion.
Wayne Newton, singer.
Marie Osmond, singer.
Albert Reed, model.
Jane Seymour, actress ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman").

Musical guests this season will include Dolly Parton and Avril Lavigne.

Sorry 'bout that...I should of known Tori Spelling wouldn't be on this. She's too happy running the inn and enjoying her new baby boy.

See you all later in the season about this!
TTR xoxo

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

YAY! 2 of my favorite show's star's will be on Fall 2007's DANCING WITH THE STARS!

According to http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/tv/all-dancing.6014475aug28,0,7936886.story
TMZ.com leaked the participants (to be formally announced tomorrow on Good Morning America) that will be competing on this Fall's 2007-2008 DANCING WITH THE STARS:

"Mark Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur who owns the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA franchise, and is founder and chairman of HDNet, the first high-definition satellite television network.

Aaron Carter, singer and younger brother of singer Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys

Tori Spelling, actress daughter of famed producer Aaron Spelling, known primarily for her role in ''Beverly Hills 90210.''

Wayne Newton, veteran singer, Las Vegas entertainer.

Jane Seymour, a one-time ''007 Bond'' girl, most recently known for her long-running role as ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.''

Jennie Garth, of ''Beverly Hills 90210'' fame.

Nia Peeples, singer/actress, who starred in the TV version of ''Fame.''

Lou Ferrigno, actor/body builder, best known for his role as ''The Incredible Hulk.''

Helio Castroneves, a Brazilian Indy race car driver who won back-to-back ''Indianapolis 500'' races in 2001 and 2002.

Richard Quest, CNN reporter specializing in business travel, who has his own show, ''CNN Business Traveller.''

Sabrina Bryan, a member of the girl singing group, The Cheetah Girls.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., a professonal boxer and former lightweight world champion

Giselle Bundchen, Brazilian supermodel, former girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio"

I AM SO EXCITED! One of my FAVORITE SHOWS OF ALL TIME was Beverly Hills 90210!!
I'll bet Wayne Newton will be this season's Jerry Springer. And Arron Carter - what a hottie! he'll bring in the teenagers of days past.

Hope you all are as excited as I am about the new Fall line-up.
TTYL! TTR xoxo

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

LABOR DAY:An OPPORTUNITY to show your PRIDE & PATRIOTISM

UPDATE FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2008: Just so ya know...

August 29, 2008 - August 31, 2008
RiverFest & Fireworks (CANCELLED)
Promenade Park, Toledo

IU HAVE NO IDEA WHY.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I ran across a wonderful website today, that offers to send a FREE AMERICAN FLAG, as well as the opportunity to write a thank you note and send a card to a disabled veteran. I wish I would have seen this site sooner! I plan to send as many cards as I can to thank the men and women for the sacrifice they may have made or are still making to allow me, and my family and friends to live free and safe.


Here is the link, if you'd like to send a THANK YOU NOTE TO A VETERAN, yourself:
http://www.pva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ECRD_homepage


Here are some of the links that you can choose from on the right side of the page:
Be a Hero for a Hero
eBay Giving Works
Honorary & Memorial Gifts

Send an eCard
Free Address Labels


While you're there, you might want to take the opportunity to nominate TOLEDO as the "most patriotic" city. You can do so by going to the same site: http://www.pva.org
and look for the link to go where you wish to go.
The winning city/town will be notified and announced September 2007 and publicized on www.pva.org.

BY THE WAY: LABOR DAY FIREWORKS HERE IN TOLEDO ARE GOING TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd, and can be viewed from downtown Toledo and International Park, on the East Side, as usual. I CAN'T WAIT....hope I find someone to go with! Maybe I'll take my "mate" tried and true, who loves me more than anyone, my dog, Punk'n.

For more info about Labor Day weekend, go to http://www.citifest.org

Here's what it tells about labor Day celebrations in Toledo at Toledo.com:
RiverFest & Pandemonium VIII Fireworks
CitiFest 20th Anniversary Bash
@ Promenade Park
Sunday, September 2nd, 2007

5:00 pm – National Recording Artist TBD
8:00 pm – UPDATE!! EDDIE MONEY admission $5.00
9:30 pm – FIREWORKS LIVE!

Celebrate CitiFest’s 20TH birthday during the annual RiverFest celebration. CitiFest closes the summer season with a bang as RiverFest and Pandemonium VIII Fireworks present the summer’s grand finale. The Labor Day tradition continues to rock the riverfront with electrifying music and explosive illuminations in the sky. Pandemonium VIII Fireworks, one of the largest and loudest Labor Day fireworks shows in Northwest Ohio, will take to the skies shortly after the sun goes down. The fireworks soundtrack will be broadcast live on a local radio station. With the best in national entertainment, food vendors, and fireworks, RiverFest is a high-charged ending to the summer for the entire family, benefiting the Toledo Zoo.


Enjoy what's left of Summer!
XOXO TTownRobin
PS. The last 3 pictures, I took at the July 4th fireworks..
Toledo, Ohio Fireworks, over the Maumee River




PS!! I couldn't find a THING about a LABOR DAY PARADE for Toledo, 2007!! What the heck!!?? No parade to honor our veterans? THAT STINKS!! I HOPE I just missed it..
But here is a list of the upcoming events, including 2 more Ethnic Festivals (The GREEK FESTIVAL marking the "official" end of Summer, and the GERMAN-AMERICAN FESTIVAL, marking the "official" beginning of Fall! Then...my FAVORITE, that I will probably be missing this year because I no longer have a car, the APPLEBUTTER FESTIVAL in GRAND RAPIDS!! AND awesome full day for all of us girls!! (I can't think about it..I'll slide further into depression...I hate missing everything!! ANYONE WANT TO TAKE ME WITH YOU??)...


2 Swanton Corn Festival
Dates: August 25, 2007, Saturday
Location: Swanton Corn Festival
SWANTON CORN FESTIVAL, Aug 25, 2007 at Swanton Memorial Park. Parade 10:30 am featuring The UT Rocket Marching Band. Live enterntainment, food, barbecue chicken, crafts, rides, camel rides, beer garden, bike race, Swanton Idol, car show, horseshoes, 3 on 3 baskestball and more!

3 2007 Leipsic Ohio Sesquicentennial
Dates: August 31, 2007 - September 2, 2007, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Location: Leipsic Ohio
Parade, Civil War Reenactors, COSI on Wheels, Art Show, Farmers Market, Ice Cream Social, Classic Cars, Childrens Activities, Music, Dancing, Food, Civil War Museum, Tours, Talent Show and more!

4 Artists on the River
Dates: September 1, 2007 - September 2, 2007, Sunday Saturday
Location: One SeaGate (O-I Lobby)
In the tradition of Labor Day Weekends of the past, there will be a gathering of artists for the first annual ARTISTS ON THE RIVER Festival at One Seagate Saturday, September 1 and Sunday,September 2. Performing Artists and more!

5 GM/UAW Family Rib Fest
Dates: September 1, 2007 - September 2, 2007, Sunday Saturday
Location: GM Powertrain Oscar Bunch Park
Toledo loves RIBS and we've got em! This Labor Day Weekend event has something for everyone... live bands on center stage, arts and crafts for kids, a dunk tank, fun runs and games for the kids, baseball diamonds and sand volleyball...

6 37th Annual Greek-American Festival
Dates: September 7, 2007 - September 9, 2007, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Location: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral as we celebrate our 37th Annual Greek-American Festival! The Greek-American Festival is the perfect place to spend time with the family or enjoy a night in downtown Toledo. Come celebrate with delicious Greek food and more!

7 Black Swamp Arts Festival
Dates: September 7, 2007 - September 9, 2007, Sunday Friday Saturday
Location: Downtown Bowling Green
The mission of the Black Swamp Arts Festival (BSAF) is to connect art and the community by presenting an annual arts festival and by promoting the arts in the Bowling Green community.

8 GRUB ‘N SUDS MOTORCYCLE RALLY
Dates: September 8, 2007, Saturday
Location: Downtown Elmore
Motorcycle enthusiasts will have a great time attending the 11th annual Grub 'n Suds event in Elmore, Ohio. Sponsored by the Elmore Historical Society and A.B.A.T.E. of Ohio Region 7. A poker run, live bands, bike games and contests...

9 Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce 50th Arts Festival
Dates: September 9, 2007, Sunday
Location: Lourdes College
The Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 50th annual Arts Festival on September 9, 2007 at its new location at Lourdes College, 6832 Convent Blvd. Sylvania, Ohio. The festival, one of the largest one-day events in the country..

10 Clyde Country Fair
Dates: September 14, 2007 - September 16, 2007, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Location: Downtown Clyde
The Clyde Country Fair is celebrating its 21st year. The fair is held in beautiful downtown Clyde and is the home of Ohio’s largest running street go-kart race. Come and join us for free nightly entertainment, together with rides, crafts, and...(more)

11 Harrison Rally Day
Dates: September 15, 2007, Saturday
Location: Downtown Perrysburg
Enjoy fun for the whole family in downtown historic Perrysburg. Music, Art, food, fun!!! Music Children's Art Youth Band Parade Prize Winning Fine Arts ARtists Reception

12 Woodville Limefest
Dates: September 15, 2007, Saturday
Location: Downtown Woodville
Join us as we celebrate being the “Lime Center of the World”. The fall festival originated in 1983 to celebrate the village's slogan "Woodville -The Lime Capital of the World" and to promote business in Woodville.

13 Applebutter Fest
Dates: October 14, 2007, Sunday
Location: Downtown Grand Rapids
Always held the second Sunday of October, this festival features Heritage Craftsmen, juried crafts, entertainment,great food, vintage farm equipment, re-enactment groups and pioneer demonstrations, the traditional apple butter stir,and shops brimming with goodies.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

How to add a song from ur computer to ur blog! (FYI)


Add Hard Drive Song to Myspace (Ask Bob Rankin)

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Beginning Sunday at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 14 races left in the 8 car.


Teresa Earnhardt should be tarred and feathered. She's acting like an ex-wife rather than a widow.

Read On:
(from the Nascar.com website)
Junior: Deal for 8 scuttled by Teresa's bid for control
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
August 19, 2007
02:26 PM EDT

type size: + -BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. had seen this movie before, and he knew how it was going to end. He wanted the 8. He went after the 8. But deep down, he knew he would never get it.

"Personally, I sort of planned for this," he said. "I've been in these negotiations with the same person before, and they've never worked out in our favor. I knew this was the way it was going to be. I just didn't have the guts to tell my fans. They were holding out and hoping it would work out. I didn't have the guts to tell them it was just a waste of time hoping that would happen."

"If I was to get the 8, and allow Teresa to have limited control of it, I'd still have to deal with her, and that wasn't what I wanted"
Dale Earnhardt Jr.That much became evident this week, when Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt's trademark car number will not follow NASCAR's most popular driver from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to his new home for 2008. (read more) Despite the work of his sister and manager, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, despite the help of DEI president Max Siegel, the quest was scuttled for the same reason Earnhardt Jr. was unable to obtain an ownership share of the organization his late father founded.

Teresa Earnhardt refused to give up control. Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday at Michigan International Speedway that his stepmother, who owns DEI, wanted a share of licensing revenues from the number. Earnhardt Jr. even offered to return the No. 8 to DEI after he retired from driving, but ultimately negotiations fell apart in an episode that further underscored the growing bitterness of the division between the driver and his father's widow.

"I'm not going to sit here and get personal about this. The personal stuff is way far away from the racetrack. It's upsetting as hell, and unfortunate. But you know, that's just what happens sometimes. Like I say, I kind of had an idea that we were going to come down this road and have to take another turn. I knew this was the way it was going to happen. I'm not really all that surprised," he said.

"I knew I wasn't going to get the number a long time ago, but you wait and wait and wait. Kelley is working, trying to talk to Max, and Max is trying to help. Max tried his butt off to try and make it work, to talk some sense into [Teresa]. But she either feels too personal about the number, or the rift between me and her is too personal. I can totally understand. If I were in her shoes, I would probably be inclined to keep the number myself. But I will say that Max tried really, really hard. We had a deal that if we did get the number, I'd get him a set of golf clubs made by adidas. Unfortunately, he won't be getting his clubs."

History wasn't on Earnhardt's side. While car numbers are owned by NASCAR, they're distributed to car owners, and traditionally stay in the same shop even if a driver leaves. That's what happened at Roush Fenway Racing, which kept the No. 6 even after Mark Martin, the driver who made it famous, moved on.

"I know it is standard procedure for the owners to build equity in the number. That's what stays with them," said Martin, who now drives part-time for DEI. "The drivers take their superstardom wherever they may, when you make that choice to go. Dale Earnhardt won the rookie of the year and his first championship in the No. 2, then raced the No. 15, and then he raced the No. 8 on [Busch] cars all through the '80s. If you do the history instead of look at the last five or seven years, if you do the history and present it, then there's a whole different thing to it besides race fans.

"Dale Jr. made a choice to make a change in his career, to change his path and to give it a new start and to go put himself in a position to go win his first championship, and I think that's great. But that also came with the chance that the number would stay with Dale Earnhardt Inc., where it has been since 1984."

Jeff Gordon can imagine a similar reaction from car owner Rick Hendrick -- Earnhardt Jr.'s new boss beginning next season -- if he asked to take his trademark No. 24 with him to another team.

"If I said, 'I'd like to take the 24 with me,' he would laugh at me," Gordon said. "You know, I understand if Teresa wants to keep the 8 and use the 8. I think it's going to make it very tough for any other driver to get behind the wheel of that car, and I think if she doesn't use the 8, I think that it's really a shame that he wasn't able to get it. But as long as she used it, she thinks there's as much a tie to it with DEI than anything, then I understand why they wouldn't want to let go of it."

But it also has a tie to Earnhardt Jr., one much deeper and more personal than the numeral on apparel worn by his fans. He chose the 8 because his grandfather Ralph raced it, because of its significance within the family history. He intimated Saturday that his new number at Hendrick will have an 8 somewhere in it. "Hold on. Hang tight," he said, when asked about all those fans with No. 8 tattoos.

"I'm definitely going to look at some 80s and things like that. That's just common sense," he said. "I want a number that I'm going to like, and it's going to be a number I like and one I design. I'll design the shape and the look. It will be mine, and we'll build a new identity with that. Starting with such a clean page next year anyway, maybe it's for the best, sort of a lesson in disguise to make that clean break.

"Because when I walk away from DEI, I wanted no ties whatsoever. If I was to get the 8, and allow Teresa to have limited control of it, I'd still have to deal with her, and that wasn't what I wanted. We have to let the 8 go, and we have to get something new."


SO WADDYA THINK...WILL NUMBER 8 STUFF BE WORTH A FORTUNE OR NOTHING?
Do you think Budweiser sales will go down without their advertising on Dale Jr.'s car? (I hope so - they should of stuck by him too!)


I'D LOVE TO HEAR READER'S COMMENTS REGARDING WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS QUESTION!
For Now, LUV and GOOD LUCK TO JUNIOR AT THE MIS RACE, RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY AT NOON, on ESPN or locally on Radio 103.7 FM (for fans that don't have Cable TV, like me!)

GO JIMMIE GO AND GO JUNIOR GO, XOXO TTownRobin
WISH I WAS THERE!


MORE - HOPE U DON'T GET BORED:

When everything is all said and done, Max Siegel's job is to work in the best interest of Dale Earnhardt Inc., not Dale Earnhardt Jr....
DEI coming to the end of search for new driver No. 8
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
August 19, 2007

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. won't drive a No. 8 car, but someone at Dale Earnhardt Inc. will. The Nextel Cup organization hopes to have that matter settled in about a week, team president Max Siegel said Sunday.

"We're trying to figure out who will fit into our driver lineup that will complement the entire team and where we want to go as a company," Siegel said at Michigan International Speedway, where the 3M Performance 400 was postponed by rain until Monday. "Right now, I want to put the most confident driver possible in the car."

Whoever that is -- Siegel wouldn't say whether Mark Martin, currently driving part-time in a DEI car, is a possibility -- will face the unenviable task of succeeding NASCAR's most popular driver in a No. 8 vehicle that's become as synonymous with Earnhardt as his last name and ever-present scruff.

Earnhardt wanted to take his car number with him to Hendrick Motorsports, but said negotiations toward that end broke down because stepmother and DEI owner, Teresa Earnhardt, wanted to retain a slice of licensing revenues. (read more)

Siegel played the role of intermediary, trying to broker an agreement between two sides who have become increasingly bitter ever since Earnhardt Jr.'s bid for majority ownership in his late father's company was rebuffed.

"I don't want to get into what broke down. The fact of the matter is, Dale Jr. knows exactly how I feel about the situation, about him. I'm here to represent this company and to work hard to make sure that Dale Earnhardt Inc. is a strong, healthy company for the next 25 years. The reality of the situation is, when you have any sudden negotiations, the best you can do is have an open dialogue. I've been open and very transparent with him," Siegel said.

"It's a very complicated situation. Not only the NASCAR angle of it, but the emotional charge of this whole situation tells you how complex the discussions are, and I have no interest in reopening those discussions and debating them in the media. I understand his frustration and his disappointment. We share that disappointment in the way the future is going. But again, we're going to support him and we're going to do everything we can to represent Dale Earnhardt Inc. in a positive way."

Earnhardt Jr. said he felt all along that Teresa wouldn't part with the number. He's been considering replacements, likely something in the 80s so the 8 will remain as part of his identity. He hopes that his fans will be able to move forward once his new number and sponsor are revealed.

"There's great communication going back and forth, and a lot of great conversations about what our options are and what not," he said Sunday. "We definitely were planning to have to go in this direction, so we got our game together and whenever we decide and whatever we decide, I think that I'm going to be excited about it. I think my fans will be excited about it, and we just kind of [need to] get over the idea that we're not going to be No. 8 no more. I'm fine with that, and hopefully my fans can do the same and we'll build on a new identity."

Siegel said DEI wouldn't have kept the No. 8 if the team had no interest in using it, and added that the keeping primary sponsor Budweiser -- believed to be leaning toward Kasey Kahne for 2008 -- was still a possibility as of Sunday. But he understands the challenge facing DEI, which has been painted as a villain by Earnhardt Jr.'s legion of fans, and next season will have to sell a new driver in what could be awkward surroundings.

"I certainly see it as a tremendous challenge. But every one of the drivers who stepped into this sport started from nothing," he said.

"Unfortunately, [Earnhardt Jr.] didn't stay. I think what I want to do is to continue to build upon the high standard and the principals and the legacy that Dale Sr. and Teresa Earnhardt built this company on. We're going to get competitive drivers in the car, we're going to do everything we can to represent our commercial partners, and to win championships."

The DEI of next season will feature four Nextel Cup cars -- the Nos. 01, 1, 8 and 15 -- and possibly two Busch entries, depending on sponsorship. Siegel said DEI is "well down the road" to re-signing with Chevrolet, which is in the process of extending contracts with its NASCAR entries. And he looks forward to the day when the organization is judged by its performance on the track, and not family power struggles occurring off it.

"Hopefully five years from now, people will say nice things about DEI," Siegel said, "and this will have been a part of our growth process."


http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/05/11/dearnhardtjr.future.archive/index.html

Friday, August 17, 2007

VAN HALEN TOUR FINALLY SET TO GO! ('wish I could go SO BAD!)

As little as I care about the concerts that have been touring for the past few years, this one (as well as the Ozzfest which is free, and the Kelly Clarkson tour) is KILLING ME THAT I CAN'T GO...if you read my posts, you may recall that I have no car any more.
Me and my brother talk about what person is here and remember this and that, and we both are concert goers at heart and always will be, feven though I can't breathe in the pit any more, I still ABSOLUTELY LOVE LIVE MUSIC.
But here is the Van halen 2007 Tour Schedule, and if any of you readers go, PLEASE WRITE AND TELL ME WHAT THEY SANG AND WHAT THE BEST PART WAS, PLEASE!! I would just DIE to hear Eddie's Eruption solo in real life again...(I saw them once WAY BACK in the early 80's, but i don't really remember much of it..)




MANY OF THE DATES GO ON SALE ON AUGUST 18th - so be sure to check at this link for details, and to get your tickets:

http://www.livenation.com/artist/getArtist/artistId/3718/


See below for current Van Halen event dates.


Van Halen Reunion Tour Schedule

DAY DATE CITY VENUE

THU 27-Sept Charlotte, NC Charlotte Bobcats Arena
SAT 29-Sept Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
MON 1-Oct Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
SUN 7-Oct Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
WED 10-Oct Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
SUN 14-Oct Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse
TUE 16-Oct Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
THU 18-Oct Chicago, IL United Center
MON 22-Oct Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
WED 24-Oct Minneapolis, MN Target Center
FRI 26-Oct Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
SUN 28-Oct St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
TUE 30-Oct Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
SAT 3-Nov E Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena
TUE 13-Nov New York, NY Madison Square Garden
TUE 20-Nov Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
FRI 23-Nov Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena
SUN 25-Nov San Diego, CA Cox Arena
TUE 27-Nov Sacramento, CA Arco Arena
THU 29-Nov San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose
SAT 1-Dec Portland, OR Rose Garden
MON 3-Dec Seattle, WA Key Arena
WED 5-Dec Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
SUN 9-Dec Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
TUE 11-Dec Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome

POSTED FROM: http://www.gotickets.com/concert/van_halen.php

The much-anticipated 2007 Van Halen reunion tour has finally come. Original singer David Lee Roth has rejoined the band and Eddie Van Halen has emerged from rehab looking more healthy than ever. GoTickets is the source for Van Halen fans to get tickets to see the Van Halen North American reunion tour.

If you were a Van Halen fan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, you remember how hard it was to get Van Halen concert tickets. Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, along with the spandex-attired David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, were perhaps the biggest rock band in the world. Their self-titled 1978 album has stood the test of time over nearly 30 years, and 1984 is one of the best-selling albums of all time. So if they do hit the road again, you might need a little help from GoTickets.com to get Van Halen concert tickets.

Sammy Hagar did an admirable job putting his own touch on hits originally sung by David Lee Roth, like "Jump," "Panama," "Runnin’ With the Devil" and "Pretty Woman," but there is just no way to duplicate the sound and style of Diamond Dave. Let’s face it, Van Halen tickets are going to sell fast no matter who is singing lead, but if David Lee Roth really comes back, Van Halen concert tickets are going to be red hot. If you want the best Van Halen tour tickets, GoTickets.com will have them.

The other rumored change to the band is at bassist. Michael Anthony, a member from the band’s inception in the 1970s, is out, and the new bassist is young Wolfgang Van Halen. He’s the 16-year-old son of Eddie and actress Valerie Bertinelli, so you have to figure this kid knows how to handle a guitar. Check back soon for more news about a Van Halen tour and be sure to sign up for an email notification about Van Halen concert tickets.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

PERSOID METEOR SHOWER - 8-13-07 - 3am. till dawn

UPDATE: PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE VIDEOS OF THE METEOR SHOWER AND READ THE WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT:


http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=152734660



HEADS UP PEOPLE! SET YOUR ALARMS FOR 3 AM ( then plan to stay up!)

Summer's annual meteor shower promises to put on a dazzling show when it peaks this weekend — provided you're far from city lights. With no moon in sight to interfere with the Perseid meteor shower, skygazers can expect to spot streaking fireballs late Sunday into dawn Monday regardless of time zone. Astronomers estimate as many as 60 meteors per hour could flit across the sky at the shower's peak.

This year's sky show comes with an added bonus: Mars will be visible as a bright red dot in the northeastern sky.

"We have front-row seats this year," said Kelly Beatty, executive editor of Sky & Telescope magazine.

Last year's Perseid shower was somewhat of a dud because the moon's glare washed out many of the faint meteors. This weekend's meteor shower coincides with a new moon, which means the skies will be dark and perfect for viewing meteors.

Experts offer some tips to get the most out of nature's fireworks: Since Perseid meteors can be seen from any direction in the sky, viewers should pick out a dark patch of sky free of light pollution and wait for the meteors to appear.

Dim meteors appear as a momentary flash of light while the brighter ones leave a glowing streak. The number of Perseids zipping across the sky should increase steadily through the night, peaking just before sunrise. Although the peak occurs this weekend, the Perseids are visible for several nights after that.

Unlike other celestial sightings that require a telescope or binoculars, the best way to watch a meteor shower is with the naked eye.

The Perseids are perhaps the most beloved of all meteor showers because of their predictability. The August shower gets its name from the constellation Perseus because the meteors appear to originate there.

The annual Perseid shower occurs when the Earth's orbit crosses the path of debris thrown off by Comet Swift-Tuttle. As the cosmic junk — many the size of a grain of sand — enters the atmosphere, it burns up in a flash, appearing as "shooting stars" across the sky.

In the past, the Perseid showers have produced such spectacular displays that people swamped radio stations with reports of a mysterious light in the sky.

PREVIOUS STORY FROM: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070811/ap_on_sc/meteor_shower

MORE FROM SKY AND TELESCOPE MAGAZINE:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/8935687.html

The Perseid meteors appear to stream away from their radiant near the border of Perseus and Cassiopeia. And while you're outside on a dark night, don't forget to look for the Double Cluster and the Andromeda Galaxy, two of the easiest "faint fuzzies" to spot with your unaided eyes.

Prepare for the Perseids

August is the best month overall to view meteors from the Northern Hemisphere, according to Robert Lunsford, operations manager of the American Meteor Society. And conditions are ideal this year because the Perseid meteor shower peaks on the new-Moon night of Sunday–Monday, August 12–13.

The Perseids are one of the two strongest and most reliable annual meteor showers. (The other is December's Geminids.) And while some showers produce brief bursts lasting just a few hours, the Perseids have a broad peak. So don't despair if clouds are forecast for Sunday night — or if work obligations prevent you from staying up until dawn on Monday. Even now, a week before the peak, you can see up to a dozen Perseids per hour if conditions are perfect. That's stronger than some meteor showers at their best!

The meteor rate increases to roughly 30 per hour in the predawn hours on Saturday, 45 per hour on Sunday morning, and 80 per hour before the sky starts to get light on Monday morning. That's for a single observer at a dark-sky site in the north temperate latitudes.

The Perseid meteors appear to stream away from their radiant near the border of Perseus and Cassiopeia. And while you're outside on a dark night, don't forget to look for the Double Cluster and the Andromeda Galaxy, two of the easiest "faint fuzzies" to spot with your unaided eyes.
S&T IllustrationPerseid meteors are visible in every part of the sky. But wherever you see them, they appear to be moving away from the shower's radiant point near the Perseus/Cassiopeia border. This is a perspective effect, happening for the same reason that snowflakes appear to stream away from the center of the road when you're driving through a snowstorm.

On any given night, activity starts slowly in the evening but picks up by 11 p.m., when the radiant gets reasonably high in the sky. The meteor rate increases steadily through the night as the radiant rises higher, peaking just before the sky starts to get light, roughly 1½ to 2 hours before sunrise.

For the most pleasant viewing experience, find a spot far from any city lights. Perseids tend to be relatively bright as meteors go, but you'll still see more the darker your skies are. Bring a reclining chair so that you can view high in the sky in comfort; there's no point in filling half your field of view with trees. Don't forget warm, mosquito-proof clothes or, better, a sleeping bag. No matter how hot the days are, it can get surprisingly chilly under a clear sky late at night, especially whan you're inactive. And for many people, the most important accessory is bug spray for the parts of you that remain exposed!

It doesn't really matter where in the sky you watch; meteors can appear anywhere. Just watch where it's darkest, usually straight up. It's probably best not to stare directly at the radiant, because meteors there leave short trails.

Keep track of the direction each meteor is moving. Though most will be Perseids, you'll probably see plenty of Delta Aquarids moving more or less in the opposite direction. And this time of year is also good for sporadic meteors not associated with any recognized shower.

I LOVE THE SUMMER SKY!


HOPE YOU GET TO ENJOY IT!
('Hope we get to SEE it - we have rain in OUR forecast for tomorrow..)

XOXO God Bless! Luv, TTownRobin

Saturday, August 11, 2007

INTERESTING (found this in YAHOO ANSWERS) regarding The Toledo Blade

QUESTION: Is there any connection between the Toledo Blade newspaper(Oh), and the Toledo Blade Blvd in North Port ,Fla?

The Toledo Blade is a local newspaper in Toledo Ohio. There is also a major roadway near North Port, Port Charlotte, Florida called the Toledo Blade Blvd. Is there any corolation? (sp?)

ANSWER: Best Answer - Chosen By Voters

Not a bit. The paper in Florida was named for a landowner from the late 1800's names Steven Toledo.

ANY OF YOU OUT THERE HAVE MORE INFO ON THIS??
I'm Curious...

Have a good one!
TTR

Saturday, August 4, 2007

COOL THING ABOUT LIVING IN TOLEDO: Cedar Point!

Today is the first time in as long as I can remember that I HAVEN'T gone to Cedar Point at least once in the Summer. It has been common place that I take my daughter to Cedar Point (in Sandusky Ohio, about an hour and 15 minutes away, as the crow flies) every year on or for her birthday at the end of June. She went with her boyfriend and his sister and her fiance' today.It wasn't for any special occasion; her boyfriend's parents had free tickets and gave them to the kids. Even if I would have had a ticket, I have no idea who I would have asked to go with me, and you REALLY SHOULD go in groups of two, so no one is waiting around to ride a ride. That happened to me last year AND the year before! We had invited Richard, my daughter's best friend (that recently moved to Knoxville, TN, and whom I REALLY miss having around ) to go with us. They wanted to run from ride to ride, and ride coasters that I can't ride (the wooden ones and ones that jerk my neck) so I just wandered around by myself, window shopping, eating, and got so bored that I actually went out to he car and TOOK A NAP! AT CEDAR POINT!! I vowed this past year that I would not go again without a friend of my own. And lately, for me,m they are few and far between. Although, I must note that my old grade school friend, Judy Gawronski has been getting in tough with me, which is awesome, and my friend from the corner., Jeremy, has been in touch and we actually went out last night down to the docks. We had 3 long Island ice Teas , took the water taxi across the River over to the Rally By the River, downtwon, had a bloomin' onion, ride the taxi back, and danced our butts off till the bar almost closed. I had a GREAT WONDERFUL FUN AND LONG NEEDED GOOD tIME. But back to the Cedar point story.Many friends that I COULD have asked to go, IF I would have had a fre ticket and a ride (I have no car at the present), either work a lot, or have children that they may have wanted to take..NO THANK YOU. NO KIDS. NOT WIHEN I GO TO CEDAR POINT..Well, unless I am getting paid to babysit them. Then that's different.. As far as the kids that went today, as it turned out - they unkowingly chosen the most awesome day they could have gone so far this month. We have had temperatures in the 90's for well over a week, and more to come next week, but TODAY: 80 and cloudy. GREAT for CEDAR POINT. No HOT sun to burn you like a lobster, and no threat of rain either to speak of, just a only slightly humid summer day with clouds. AWESOME. One of my favorite things to do when someone I know goes to Cedar Point is to find them on one of the web cams...I love to look for them periodically throughout the day on one of the 4-5 web cams that are USUALLY working, and didn't have bugs stuck to it.. Today only one seems to be up, and that is the Sky Ride web cam. I have attempted to include it in with my post, in case someone you know is at the "ROLLER COASTER CAPITAL" Today!!

Let's see if this web cam is going to work: (If not, I will post the link to get to it at the bottom)
Park Webcams, Online Fun, Cedar Point














Main Midway Cam








Picture






LINK TO WEB CAM PAGE FOR MAIN CAUSEWAY AT CEDAR POINT: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/webcams/webcam.cfm?chip=1

Thursday, July 19, 2007

IN RESPONTS TO RANTS for the TOLEDO CITY PAPER, July 26, 2006!!

Dear "TOLEDO CITY PAPER": I am addressing the invitation to "RANT" as offered in your July 26, 2006 issue,(OMG - I JUST NOTICED THIS ARTICLE IS A YEAR OLD, AND I ALREADY SENT IN MY REBUTTAL! WHAT A MAROON!!), as well as online, at: http://www.toledocitypaper.com/view_article.php?id=789&highlight=RANT.

Thank you for this opportunity to get up on my soapbox and shout: I am so tired of folks here in TTown complaining about what is lacking in our fair city! I am shocked at how attitudes have shifted over the past 10 years, and how so many more more of our residents have become "reactive" and negative, instead of "proactive" and POSITIVE!!

Just for a moment, those of you who can't think of anything great to say about TOLEDO, please try to imagine yourself living out in Lindsey, (pop. 504), Van Buren, (pop. 313), or Metamora, (pop. 563), to name a few. Imagine trying to think of something to do inexpensively on a weekend night. There are many folks in those Ohio small towns who would LOVE to have all the resources that we have, within a half-an-hour's drive. With a day of pleasant weather and the ability to be adventurous, there's no excuse for ANYONE in TOLEDO to be complaining about a lack of things to do, places to go and things to see! Whether or not you have a pocketful of money, here is a list of ideas (inspired by Sarah Pierce, who writes for hitchedmag.com), of mostly FREE things, or things that cost no more than $20 to do here! Upon leaving TOLEDO, you may have to travel more than 2 hours to find many of these same amenities. AREN'T WE LUCKY?!

* Did you know that the TOLEDO ZOO is free on Mondays to Lucas County residents if you arrive before 11 am? You could pack a lunch and some bottled water, and make a day of it. If you search around, you will find coupons where children can get in free with a paid adult, if you wish to visit on other days besides Mondays.(2700 Broadway, 419-385-5721). How about "them apples"?

* You knew this was coming...When is the last time you went to the TOLEDO ART MUSEUM? It's FREE and if you even remotely like art, you could spend hours there. You can even stroll the museum outdoor surroundings and enjoy the sculptures while taking in some fresh air. It's always air conditioned in the Summer months.(2445 Monroe St. at Scottwood, 419-255-8000 / 1-800-644-6862, www.toledomuseum.org). You also have the opportunity to explore TOLEDO'S local galleries and artists. Some smaller shops don't mind at all if you drop in and take a look around...outside of TOLEDO, shops maybe, ART MUSEUM, I doubt it..

* Many of those small cities have festivals and fairs, but not as large a scale as our annual LUCAS COUNTY FAIR. It is held just outside the Toledo city limits, in Maumee, and offers FREE admission on certain days, every year. Last year, you could donate a canned good to get in free. This year, the FREE dates are/were: July 24th, 25th, and 26th, from 11 am to 2 pm. only. If these dates have passed, remember it for next year. It really is fun to watch the sheep and pig judging, the wood carvers and the magic shows. I can honestly say we have gone there with $5.00, and have eaten 4 of the most delicious corn dogs on the planet, split a can of soda, AND had a wonderful time, without even riding one ride..(Lucas County Recreation Center 2901 Key Street, Maumee, 419-213-2230,http://www.lucascountyfair.com/)

* You could enjoy a romantic or educational hike anywhere, I suppose. Have you ever walked along all the trails in our lovely TOLEDO METROPARKS? (419-407-9700) If not, you're in for a real treat. We have all this beauty around us and all we seem to do is complain...Why not let loose your inner child, and play tag, red rover, roll down a hill or bird watch at any local grassy knoll.

* You can fish at many of the parks as well, but be sure to invest in a fishing permit first. You can purchase one online by going to: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/fishing/fishregs/. Can you catch PERCH anywhere else besides LAKE ERIE? You could bring a backpack and surprise your partner with juice, fruit, crackers and cheese. How many tiny cities have carry-outs all over town; ours only doubles the prices, out- lying areas TRIPLE the prices!

* The TOLEDO BOTANICAL GARDEN can be an all-day visit for those of you who already know about "stopping to smell the roses" and is is located at:
5403 Elmer Drive in TOLEDO (419-936-2986, http://www.toledogarden.org/)There is an awesome boardwalk to view deer and LAKE ERIE at MAUMEE BAY STATE PARK too! (91750 State Park Road, Oregon, OH, 1-866-644-6727 for camping, 1-800-282-7275 for the lodge, http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks/parks/maumeebay.htm).
For more fun, if you happen to own one, bring your digital camera and have a blast pretending you're a professional photographer. If you enter an especially good photo, you might even win a prize: a possible free bonus! Many small city businesses or web sites do have the budgets to offer these incentives.

* How many outer-lying cities offer FREE or low-cost public swimming? Bake in the sun at one of our TOLEDO CITY POOLS, LAKE ERIE, or MAUMEE BAY STATE PARK beach. TOLEDO authorities have gone to great lengths to make sure the waters are tested and clean in designated areas. Some of the high taxes you complain about help to fund these tasks. Bring some water toys, a Frisbee, a floaty, and/or a good book and have more fun than the kids.

* Beat the heat with an ice cream, or iced coffee. If you have a car, you can pop through a drive through, and head over to the nearest scenic walking area, like EAST TOLEDO'S INTERNATIONAL PARK, NEAR THE WILLIS P. BOYER ship (26 Main Street,East Toledo, 419 936-3070 ), or take a walk downtown and go people watching. It really is safe; trust me! Folks from tiny little cities would give their right arm to have a drive-through restaurant at their disposal!

* You could visit a "cheapie" movie theater. They almost always have excellent movies playing out at the theaters next to SPRING MEADOWS SHOPPING CENTER, that show second-run features. Pick a rainy day and have a movie marathon. A couple of bucks is a small price to pay to beat the heat. What tiny town would give to have a place like that to go?

* If gas were just a bit less expensive, I would suggest taking a scenic drive. Along the way you could pull over to have coffee and dessert at a nice café. Instead, you have the opportunity to drive to a parking area near the scenic area, park the car, and get out and walk or ride a bike or scooter (roller skates? skateboard??). Yes, you COULD do that near a smaller city, but you would not have so many areas to choose from within the city limits of a small town.

* Where else could you take a DOWNTOWN TOLEDO walking tour? The Downtown TOLEDO walking tours for 2007, started for the season on July 5, 2007, and continue Thursdays and continue through Sept. 13, 2007 from noon to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Volunteer guides trained in Toledo history and architecture will lead each tour FOR FREE! (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070628/ART03/70628018)
OR,
* A personal favorite TOLEDO walking tour of my own:
Start at the ERIE STREET MARKET (237 S. Erie Street, 419 936-3743), spend the day there, split the day between the TOLEDO FARMERS' MARKET, just outdoors at 535 Market St.(419 255-6765) OR continue down ONTARIO STREET. You will be surprised to find inexpensive food eateries if you keep your eyes open, some that offer free samples, as well as window shopping (for gift ideas and/or clearance sales this time of year).

Continue another block toward the heart of downtown and you will discover inspiration at ARCHITECTURAL ARTIFACTS at 20 S. Ontario Street. (for hours call: 419-243-6916).

Just a short way up the block you will find a place to buy $2.00 New York style pizza and an ice cream parlor with rod iron tables and chairs outdoors: SCOOTERS: 140 N. Ontario St., and DOUG'S ICE CREAM HOUSE AND EMPORIUM, next to the Greyhound bus station, not far off the path.

Are you goofy like me? "Cop a seat" at the bus station and welcome people home!) Goofy is always free...(unless you're at Walt Disney World.)

CLASSIC ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES is just up the road and if you continue, you will arrive at a dead end at the historical TOLEDO COURTHOUSE building to tour, or to take photos of. Go early, and you will hear the sound of the bells playing hymns at ST. PAUL'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, across from the courthouse, at 8:30 am.!

There are MANY TOLEDO WALKING TOURS, historical and architectural, in and around TOLEDO, so if you have any questions please feel free to write, or consult one of our local historians, like LARRY MICHAELS, the Pastor of historical MARTIN LUTHER CHURCH on Nevada Street in East Toledo. If he doesn't know it, he can refer you to someone who can. (Books about historical TOLEDO by Larry R. Michaels are available on-line from Barnes and Noble, or email: michaelsoh@aol.com ) For more historical information about TOLEDO, go to:http://www.toledosattic.org/...and by the way, how may cities have all these web sites and historical venues? Many have one or two, we have LOTS!

* 'What these small towns wouldn't give to have a public transportation system!!? We are fortunate enough to have TARTA: Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority. Where else can you ride from one side of town to the other for a dollar ($1.10 one-way with a transfer to change buses). With this service we get: $1.00 rides to Mud hens games, (www.tarta.com/hens.htm), and FREE transportation on ozone action days! (419-243-RIDE 7433..Routes & Maps: www.tarta.com/routes.htm, Call-A-Ride: www.tarta.com/callaride.htm)

* In any city you can be a kid again, but TOLEDO has bowling alleys in every area of town (check for buy-one, get-one-free coupons), some nice miniature golf locations, where you can golf, or ride go-carts (if you have more than $10.00). Where else within a 60 mile radius will you find a "PUTT-PUTT GOLF", WITH a cave and a waterfall?

* TOLEDO offers some really safe, manicured places to (legally) pitch a tent. Maumee Bay State Park campground, just north of the city area, only charges $26.00 for a fully electrical site. (Yes, it's a LITTLE over $20. but think of all the FREE things you get to do while you're there! All you will have to purchase besides the site if you already have a tent (or can borrow one) is food and firewood (and even that can be free from a neighbor or friend). Go camping and roast hot dogs as you gaze at the stars. Invite your friends out and save them some money too! You are allowed up to 6 or 7 people and 2-3 tents on one site! (http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/camps/campingfees.htm)


* Many Toledoans complain that there are bars on every corner. Those of you who LIKE it that way can relax and shake off the negativity, by searching for the best and "most economical" happy hour in town. Look through our FREE publications that are packed with activity ideas, like our own TOLEDO CITY PAPER, or search online for local restaurants and bars with happy hours. Most places offer half-price food and drink specials, allowing you to get two drinks and share an appetizer for less than $20.


* Stop in any hotel lobby in TOLEDO pick up a free visitors guide or a handful of FREE brochures, for more date ideas. Call or look up on the computer: the GREATER TOLEDO CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 419-321-6404/800-243-4667, 401 Jefferson Ave.,
www.toledocvb.com. You could also open a map, pick a spot, grab about $10 bucks to take with you, get out of the house, and stop RANTING!

Life will always have bills, shortages, and disappointments. But if you start the day with a smile, and a POSITIVE ATTITUDE, you'll learn that you will be happier, those around you will be happier, and you'll all be THANKFUL TO LIVE IN TOLEDO, OHIO.

If you STILL REALLY WANT TO RANT, why not visit http://www.toledotalk.com/, register, and fire away. A happy TOLEDOAN is a POSITIVE TOLEDOAN.

Monday, July 16, 2007

GAS PAINS


I sold my car and I STILL think gas prices are too high!

Actually, I think I am still in denial. I sold my "piece-of-shit-car" for $200.00 the other day. Normally, I would be completely stressed that my car "took a shit' (needed valve and/or engine work, as advised by a very kind & helpful employee of the Woodville Road AUTO ZONE, who said he used to own the exact same car, a 1990 Ford Escort)...but this time, I felt like it was more of an informed, concious choice to get rid of it before it was completely dead. I could sell it, if I were lucky, or I'd have to "junk it" (although I may have at least been able to have gotten $100.00 for it at the junk yard for recycling the steel & aluminum & what not). The MINUTE I posted it on Toledo BSTF, I received an email from a friend/neighbor saying she wanted to buy it, and that she has a friend who is a mechanic that would fix it for her. That lightened the load on my already-overloaded brain, instantly. Then, pondering the gas prices and that I would be saving about $70.00 a month on gas and insurance, which may help me to get out of the "check into cash" trap much sooner than planned, I realized that what has happening to me was actually a Godsend.

Before I go deeper in to a boring story about how much I paid for that car, and how much I appreciated having it when I've had to drive across town to the doctor, or have had to buy cat litter, milk and laundry soap, all in the same day, I think it might be more helpful to you, the reader, if I focus this post more on what the current gas prices are across the U.S. and here in TTown. Here is a story I ran across while Googling:

Nebraska Has Highest Gas Prices in U.S.
By Anna Jo Bratton, Associated Press Writer

According to AAA Survey, Nebraska Has Highest Gas Prices in the Nation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Nebraska edged Michigan to take the dubious honor of having the most expensive gas in the nation, according to a nationwide AAA gas price survey released Sunday.
At $3.34, the average price for a gallon of gas in Nebraska was down a little less than a cent from Saturday, but Michigan was down more than a cent and slightly lower than Nebraska.


That puts Nebraska at 29 cents above the national average -- $3.05 -- and the pain at the pump has some people cringing.
"I don't fill it up," said Susan Heitmann of Omaha, who was pumping gas into her older pickup at a west Omaha gas station. "I just go up to a certain dollar amount."
The truck has two tanks, she said, so she's used to watching the numbers on the pump spin higher and higher.
"I don't care which one it is -- I pick the cheapest," Heitmann said.
Prices in Norfolk are were few cents lower Sunday -- averaging $3.32 -- but in North Platte, the average price was $3.40, according to AAA.
Wisconsin, Illinois and Hawaii join Nebraska and Michigan to round out the top five most expensive places to buy gas, all with prices between $3.28 and $3.34, according to AAA. The national average was down just one-hundredths of a cent from Saturday.
AAA gives South Carolina the cheapest gas ranking, at $2.83, followed by New Jersey, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, all between $2.83 and $2.89.
U.S. gas prices on average rose about six cents in the past three weeks, according to the national survey.
Regular gas prices averaged $3.06 a gallon, mid-grade was $3.17 and premium was $3.29, said oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg.
The lowest price was in Tucson, Ariz., where a gallon of regular cost $2.80. The highest was in Chicago at $3.46, according to the Lundberg Survey of thousands of stations nationwide.
Industry officials have said short supplies due to refinery problems are driving up prices in the Midwest.
"(There are) outages in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas. Everyone's struggling," said Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketer's Association.
But the high prices didn't have Sue Gordon of Omaha sweating. She owns a Lexus hybrid SUV, and said she gets between 27 and 30 miles per gallon in the city.
"It seems like I fill up my tank every third week," Gordon said as she pumped gas at an Omaha station.




WELL, HERE DEAR READERS, IS A BRIGHT SPOT TO HELP TOLEDO RESIDENTS AND THOSE OF YOU PLANNING TO VISIT TOLEDO:


CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY!

or copy, cut, and paste this link in your browser address bar:

IMPORTANT TIP: The gas prices at the truck stops off of Interstate 280 at the Stony Ridge exit, such as Flying J and Petro, are ALWAYS in the top 10 least expensive gas stations anywhere near or within Toledo.

The least expensive form of transportation here in TTown is our very own TARTA "Toledo Area Transit something.." bus system.
For route information and times, go to:

or
call (419) 243 -RIDE (7433)

Good luck y'all, and please watch out for me on MY BIKE!


xoxo TTownRobin

Friday, July 13, 2007

A "Hecky's" Pond Mystery for FRIDAY THE 13th in East Toledo

Does anyone else out there have GOOD luck on Friday the 13th, or when a black cat crosses your path? I usually do! Today is FULL for me, with an all day bus ride across town and a store "walk", so I hope it goes well...

I'm hoping to make it over to Hecklinger's "Hecky's" Pond, here in East Toledo, off of Consaul St./Ravine Parkway on the way to "Hunky"town, to witness the draining of the water, after 30 odd years of it being off limits to fishing due to pollution, and ice skating due to thin ice. They started emptying it yesterday, and so far they have found 2 cars, & 2 safes (one unopened).

Of course, never being one to ignore a good mystery, most, including myself, are hoping that the empty pond leads to a dead body or tow; a mystery solved or a new search for a killer to be begun.(sp)

God Bless all of you, and if you have any good Friday the 13th true stories, please send them in as a comment, would you?

By the way, the Pond will be cleaned, restocked with fish and refilled once they are finished cleaning it. I'll let you know if anything interesting turns up.

TTR

PS. Here's some history behind Friday the 13th:

There have been a number of events known as "Black Fridays" in history. Usually, these events are devastating. Some historians propose that the origin of the "Black Friday" was the simultaneous arrest of hundreds of Knights Templars on October 13, 1307 (Friday), to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.Today, the concept of Friday the 13th has been extended through the 'black Friday' concept to incorporate anything really bad that happens on a Friday. In history there have been a number of events that happened on a Friday and are known as Black Friday:Black Friday (1869), a financial crisis in the United States Black Friday (1889), the day of the Johnstown Flood. Black Friday (1910), WSPU took militant action when the Conciliation Bill failed. Black Friday (1919), a riot in Glasgow stemming from industrial unrest Black Friday (1921), day on which British dockers' and railwaymen's union leaders announced their decision not to call for strike action against wage reductions for miners Black Friday (1929), a stock market crash in the United States Black Friday (1939), a day of devastating fires in Australia Black Friday (1945), largest air battle over Norway, over Sunnfjord Hollywood Black Friday (1945), the day the six-month-old Confederation of Studio Unions (CSU) strike boiled over into a bloody riot at the Warner Bros. studios leading to the eventual breakup of the CSU. Black Friday (1978), a massacre of protesters in Iran Black Friday (1982), known in Britain after Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War Black Friday (1987), the day an hour-long F4 category tornado ran through the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Black Friday (2004), a crackdown on a peaceful protest in the capital city of Maldives, Malé Other uses of the term include:Black Friday, a name used for any Friday which falls on the 13th of a month Black Friday, the Friday preceding Easter, also known as Good Friday or God Friday. Black Friday (shopping), the day after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the first shopping day of the Christmas season and one of the busiest shopping days of the year "Black Friday" is the name given to the last Friday before Christmas in the United Kingdom. It is a day when widespread anti-social behaviour due to public alcohol consumption is expected to occur, and police are given additional powers to combat it Black Friday (1940 film), a science-fiction/horror film starring Boris Karloff, Stanley Ridges and Bela Lugosi Black Friday (2005 film), a Hindi film on the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, directed by Anurag Kashyap "Black Friday", a title of a song by Grinspoon "Black Friday", a title of a song by Steely Dan "Black Friday", a title of a song by Megadeth "Black Friday Rule", a title of a song by Flogging Molly "Black Friday", the nickname for game 3 of the 1977 NLCS baseball championships. Philadelphia Phillies fans gave the nickname because the Phillies blew an early lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers and a controversial call was made during the game "Black Friday", a title of a poem written by Dennis Rader, the BTK killer

Source(s):Excerpts from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/friday_the_...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/black_frida...

Search Hecklinger's Pond at http://www.toledoblade.com
or read a FLICKR entry w/photo map by Patrick T Power at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17607628@N00/8816521

NOTE:
HECKLINGER'S POND was named after the family who owned it.
They owned a floral company here in Toledo for many years.
[info provided in part from Patrick T. Power. Thank you.]
Swimming was forbidden at the pond, due to a number of drownings there while I was a child, during the period between 1960 and 1970, if I recall correctly.
I remember wanting to go there to ice skate as a small child (my father took me to nearby Oregon's Pearson Park to ice skate instead.
They rented out the skates back then, and had a lovely shack
with a fireplace next to the one area of the pond to warm up.
I can picture myself falling and being cold, as if it were yesterday!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

MORE IMPORTANT TOLEDO OH reference and stats...

FROM: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

City (pop., 2000: 313,619), northwestern Ohio, U.S. It is the principal Great Lakes port, located at the southwestern end of Lake Erie. The area was opened to white settlement after the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers. Formed by the consolidation of two villages in 1833, it figured in the so-called Toledo War of 1835 – 36, a bloodless dispute between Michigan Territory and Ohio over the location of their common boundary. Industrial development was spurred in the 1830s and '40s by the arrival of canals and railroads. Glassmaking, now a major industry, was introduced in the late 1880s. A major commercial, industrial, and transportation centre, it handles considerable foreign commerce, and its port is one of the world's largest shippers of bituminous coal. Its educational institutions include the University of Toledo (1872).

FROM: US History Encyclopedia

Toledo, the fourth largest city in Ohio in the early twenty-first century, began in 1680 as a French trading post. Ceded to the British in 1763, it became part of the U.S. Northwest Territory in 1787. Canals and railroads helped establish Toledo as a major inland port and center of industry. During the Progressive Era, Toledo won national recognition for urban reform. Historically, Toledo has been a major producer of glass and automotive products, but these industries declined, and from 1970 to 2000 employment in the Toledo metropolitan area decreased markedly. During this same period, population declined from 383,062 to 313,619, although city leaders question the accuracy of the 2000 federal census. Toledo has experienced other problems. A 1967 race riot caused extensive property damage, injuries, and arrests. Public schools were closed for several weeks in 1976 and 1978 because of teacher strikes. In July 1979 a bitter dispute between the city government and police and firemen led to a two-day general strike and costly arson fires. In the 1980s and 1990s, Toledo sought to emphasize its strong medical, cultural, and higher educational institutions. New downtown buildings and the Portside festival marketplace along the Maumee River were indicative of business leaders' commitment to the city.

FROM Columbia Encyclopedia

Toledo (təlē'dō) , city (1990 pop. 332,943), seat of Lucas co., NW Ohio, on the Maumee River at its junction with Lake Erie; inc. 1837. With a natural harbor and its railroads and highways, Toledo is a port of entry and one of the chief shipping centers on the Great Lakes. Oil, coal, farm products, and motor vehicle parts are exported; iron ore is the principal import. Toledo is also an industrial and commercial center, with oil refineries, a glassmaking industry, shipyards, and plants that manufacture vehicles, powertrain assemblies, machinery, and chemicals. The health-care industry is also significant.
Gen. Anthony Wayne built Fort Industry there in 1794 after the battle of Fallen Timbers. The city was settled (1817) as Port Lawrence on that site and in 1833 was consolidated with nearby Vistula as Toledo. In 1835–36 occurred the “Toledo War,” an Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute, which was settled by Congress in favor of Ohio when Michigan became a state.
Toledo grew and prospered with the opening of the canals in the 1840s, the arrival of numerous railroad lines, the development of the Ohio coal fields, the tapping of gas and oil deposits in the late 19th cent., and the establishment of the Libbey glassworks in 1888. When Samuel M. Jones became mayor in 1897, an era of municipal reform was initiated. Jones died in 1904 and was succeeded by Brand Whitlock. The Toledo plan of labor conciliation (1946) has been adopted by other cities.
The city is the seat of the Univ. of Toledo. Points of interest include the Toledo Museum of Art with its Glass Pavilion, a large zoo, and the Anthony Wayne suspension bridge (1931). The site of the battle of Fallen Timbers, a national historic landmark, is in a nearby state park.

FROM Wikipedia

Toledo is on the western end of Lake Erie. It is the county seat6 of Lucas County, and the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census, the city proper had a population of 313,619. As of July 1, 2005, however, the U.S. Census Bureau listed the city with a reduced population of 301,285, allowing Toledo to maintain its place as the fourth-largest city in the state. Toledo is known as the Glass City because of its long history of innovation in all aspects of the glass industry: windows, bottles, windshields, construction materials, and glass art, of which the Toledo Museum of Art has a large collection. The Jeep vehicle has been manufactured in Toledo since 1941. Automotive glass supplier Libbey Owens Ford has long been a staple of Toledo's economy.

Geography
Toledo is located at 41°39′56″N, 83°34′31″W (41.665682, -83.575337).1 The city sits astride the Maumee River at the southern end of Maumee Bay, which is the westernmost inlet of Lake Erie. Toledo is north of what was formerly the Great Black Swamp, giving rise to another nickname, Frog Town. An important ecological site, a sandy oak savanna called the Oak Openings region, lies just west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 217.8 km² (84.1 mi²). 208.8 km² (80.6 mi²) of it is land and 8.9 km² (3.5 mi²) of it (4.10%) is water.

Climate
Main article: Climate of Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, like many other cities in the Great Lakes region, experiences a continental climate, characterized by four distinct seasons, with significant variations in temperature and precipitation between them. The city's location just off the western end of Lake Erie moderates its climate somewhat, so that it is less extreme than if the city were further from the lake. The city also shares many climatic characteristics with the Ohio Valley, such as slightly warmer winters and increased precipitation that is more evenly spread throughout the year.[citation needed]
The warmest month of the year is July, when high temperatures average 87°F (30°C), and overnight low temperatures average 68°F (20°C). January is the coldest month, when high temperatures average 33°F (1°C), and low temperatures average 22°F (-5°C). The wettest month of the year is June, when 3.84 inches (97.5 mm) of precipitation falls. The driest month is January, when 2.00 inches (50.8 mm) of precipitation falls. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Toledo was 105°F (41°C) on July 31, 1999. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -16°F (-27°C), on January 21, 1985.


Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 313,619 people, 128,925 households, and 77,355 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,502.0/km² (3,890.2/mi²). There were 139,871 housing units at an average density of 669.9/km² (1,734.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.23% White, 23.55% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.28% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.47% of the population.
In 2000 there were 128,925 households in Toledo, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. There was a total of 139,871 housing units in the city, of which 10,946 (7.8%) were vacant.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,546, and the median income for a family was $41,175. Males had a median income of $35,407 versus $25,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,388. About 14.2% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods
Toledo consists of the following neighborhoods,
Beverly
Birmingham
DeVeaux
Downtown
East Toledo
Five Points
Franklin Park
Glendale-Heatherdowns
LaGrange
Northriver
North Towne
Olde Towne
Old Orchard
Old West End
ONYX
Ottawa
Point Place
Reynolds Corners
Roosevelt
Scott Park
South Side
Southwyck
Warren Sherman
Westgate
Whitmer-Trilby

Suburbs
The Toledo Metropolitan Area consists of the following suburbs
Bedford, Michigan
Bowling Green
Holland
Maumee
Northwood
Oregon
Ottawa Hills
Perrysburg
Point Place
Rossford
Sylvania
Waterville
Whitehouse

Economy
Historically, Toledo is best known for industrial manufacturing, although these industries have declined considerably in past decades. The Big Three automakers all have factories in metropolitan Toledo. The city is home to two Fortune 500 companies: Dana Corporation and Owens Corning. Another Fortune 500 company, formerly located at One SeaGate, is Owens-Illinois. O-I has recently relocated to suburban Perrysburg. HCR Manor Care is an up and coming Fortune 1000 company headquartered in Toledo. Though the largest employer in Toledo was Jeep for much of the 20th century, this honor has recently gone to the University of Toledo. Manufacturing as a whole now employs fewer Toledoans than does the healthcare industry, now the city's biggest employer. In 2001, a taxpayer lawsuit was filed against Toledo that challenged the constitutionality of tax incentives it extended to DaimlerChrysler for the expansion of its Jeep plant. The case was won by the city on a technical issue after it reached the U.S. Supreme Court in DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. ___ (2006).
Toledo is the primary market city for northwest Ohio, a region of nine counties with a population in excess of 1 million. As such there is a high concentration of retail establishments and medical facilities in Toledo. The city's location near the intersection of I-80/I-90 and I-75 (i.e. "The Crossroads of America") has made it a popular hub location for transportation companies such as UPS and BAX Global. Toledo is also the nation's third busiest rail hub, 15th-busiest air cargo hub, and one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes.
To promote economic development, the City of Toledo has announced that it will cover the 81 square miles of the city of Toledo with Wi-Fi internet access for government, business, and personal use. This will create the nation's sixth largest Wi-Fi network, and will be funded with private dollars.[2]

Education

Colleges and universities
These higher education institutions operate campuses within the city of Toledo:
University of Toledo, including the former Medical University of Ohio, which merged in 2006.
Owens College
Davis College
Mercy College of Northwest Ohio
Stautzenberger College
Toledo Academy of Beauty

Schools
Toledo Public Schools operates public schools within much of the city limits, along with the Washington Local School District in northern Toledo. Additionally, several private and parochial high schools are present within Toledo including Maumee Valley Country Day School, Central Catholic High School, St. Francis de Sales High School, which was recently named as one of the top 20 Catholic high schools in the nation for academics by Catholic High School Honor Roll for the second time [3][4] , St. John's Jesuit High School, Notre Dame Academy, and St. Ursula Academy. The sixth Catholic high school in the area, Cardinal Stritch High School, is located in nearby Oregon.

Media
Main article: List of Toledo, Ohio media outlets
The following are media outlets located in the city of Toledo. Also serving the city are a number of other radio and television stations, and newspapers located outside the city limits, including many such media outlets in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Some of these newspapers and broadcasting stations are listed below, with the city of publication or license noted when occurring outside of Toledo.

Newspapers
The Blade, a daily newspaper, is the primary newspaper in Toledo and was founded in 1835. It considers itself to be one of the best local newspapers in the United States. Page one of each issue asserts "One of America's Great Newspapers." The city's arts and entertainment weekly is the Toledo City Paper. In March 2005, the weekly newspaper Toledo Free Press began publication, and it has a focus on news and sports. Other weeklies include the "West Toledo Herald," "El Tiempo", La Prensa, Sojourner's Truth, and the Toledo Journal, as well as type A magazine, a quarterly publication focused on Toledo's anarchist community. Toledo Tales provides satire and parody of life in the Glass City.

Magazines
Clamor was a bi-monthly magazine published in Toledo, Ohio. The focus of the magazine is alternative culture (covering art, commentary, cultural criticism, photography, interviews, politics, and music), often from a politically left-wing perspective.
The Old West End Magazine is published monthly and highlites "The Best in Urban Historic Living". Monthly issues are also published on the Old West End Association web site. http://www.toledooldwestend.com/main.aspx

Television stations
05 WT05 - CW (cable only/non-broadcast in NW Ohio on various cable systems, usually cable channel 5)
11 WTOL - CBS

13 WTVG - ABC
22 W22CO - TBN (formerly channel 68)
24 WNWO-TV - NBC
27 WBGU-TV - PBS (in Bowling Green, Ohio)
30 WGTE-TV - PBS
34 WBTL-LP - HSN, Infomercials (formerly broadcast channel 5)
36 WUPW - Fox
38 W38DH - America's Store (formerly channel 64)
40 WLMB - Christian, FN , Worship
48 WMNT-CA - MNTV and America One
BCSN Buckeye Cable Sports Network (cable only)

Radio stations

AM
730 WJYM - christian (licensed to Bowling Green, Ohio)
1230 WCWA (Fox Sports 1230) - sports
1370 WSPD - news/talk
1470 WLQR (The Ticket) - sports "Formerly AM1470 - WOHO"
1520 WDMN - christian
1560 WTOD (SuperTalk 1560) - talk

FM
88.1 WBGU - Return to Radio Freedom (Bowling Green State University)
88.3 WXUT - Alternative (University of Toledo, part-time)
88.3 WXTS - Jazz (Scott High School, part-time)
88.7 CIMX (89X) New Rock Alternative (Licensed to Windsor, Ontario)
89.3 WYSZ (Yes FM) - Christian Rock (licensed to Maumee, Ohio and marketed online to Detroit)
90.3 WOTL - christian
91.3 WGTE-FM - Classical
92.5 WVKS (KISS FM) - Top 40 Toledo's #1 Hit Music Channel
93.5 WRQN - Oldies (licensed to Bowling Green, Ohio)
94.5 WXKR (94 Five-XKR) - Classic Rock (licensed to Port Clinton, Ohio)
95.3 WQTE - Country (Adrian, Michigan)
95.7 WIMX (Mix 95.7) - Urban Adult Contemporary (licensed to Gibsonburg, Ohio)
96.9 WXQQ - Satellite Contemporary Christian (licensed to Wauseon, Ohio)
97.3 WJZE (Hot 97.3) - Rhythmic Top 40/Mainstream Urban
98.3 WTWR-FM (Tower 98) - Top 40 Toledo's Hit Music Station
99.9 WKKO (K100) - Country
100.7 W264AK - Christian
101.5 WRVF (The River) - Adult Contemporary
102.3 WPOS - Christian (licensed to Holland, Ohio)
102.9 WWWW - Country (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
103.7 WCKY - Country (Findlay, Ohio)
104.7 WIOT - Rock
105.5 WWWM (Star 105) - Hot Adult Contemporary (licensed to Sylvania, Ohio)
106.5 WRWK (The Zone) - Alternative Rock
107.3 WJUC (The Juice) - Urban Contemporary (licensed to Swanton, Ohio)
107.9 WMLZ-LP (Z108) - Classic Rock (Bedford Public Schools/licensed to Temperance, MI)

External links
The Official City of Toledo
Toledo.com
Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
Greater Toledo Convention and Visitors Bureau
Toledo Blade (newspaper)
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
Toledo Public Schools
Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo Anarchist Movement
The Toledo Zoo
COSI Toledo
Toledo Explorer
The Toledo Mud Hens Baseball Club
Clamor Magazine article on the North Toledo riot on October 15, 2005
Toledo Talk
Swamp Bubbles
The Two Toledos Documentary
Toledo Sister Cities International, Serving Northwestern Ohio
Old West End (historic district)


TONS MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:
INCLUDING NOTABLE RESIDENTS, MAJOR ROUTES, & ATTRACTIONS

Same valuable TOLEDO OHIO statistics

Toledo, the seat of Ohio's Lucas County, is the focus of a metropolitan complex comprised of Ottawa Hills Maumee, Oregon, Sylvania, Perrysburg, and Rossford. The city played a strategic role in the War of 1812, after which the victorious Americans enjoyed unimpeded settlement of the Northwest Territory. The site of pioneer advancements in the glass-making industry, today Toledo continues to be headquarters of international glass companies. The Port of Toledo is a major Great Lakes shipping point. Toledo's commitment to arts, culture, education, and citywide revitalization has residents and city leaders looking toward a bright future.

The City in Brief
Founded: 1817 (incorporated 1837)

Head Official: Mayor Carlton Finkbeiner (419) 936-2020

City Population
1980: 354,635
1990: 332,943
2000: 313,619
2003 estimate: 298,242
Percent change, 1990–2000: -5.8%

U.S. rank in 1980: 40th
U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported
U.S. rank in 2000: 66th

Metropolitan Area Population 1980: 617,000
1990: 614,128
2000: 618,203
Percent change, 1990–2000: -0.7%
U.S. rank in 1980: 55th
U.S. rank in 1990: Not reported
U.S. rank in 2000: 69th

Area: 81 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 615 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 48.5° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 33 inches

Major Economic Sectors: Services, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, government

Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (March 2005)
Gees, this is OLD information!
it's located at www.answers.com by the way
THE UNEMPLOTMENT RATE IS MUCH HIGHER NOW!!

Per Capita Income: $17,388 (1999)
GOOD LORD, THAT'S FROM ALMOST 10 YRS. AGO!
(I will try to update this soon...)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 26,717

Major Colleges and Universities: University of Toledo;
Davis College; Stautzenberger College; Medical College of Ohio; Owens Community College

Daily Newspaper:The Toledo Blade
Weekly Newspaper: The Suburban Press

For more information about Toledo (Ohio) click here.

Monday, June 11, 2007

TOO NICE THIS WEEK TO BLOG!

Want to see some magnificent images?
Check out Shutterstock!


It was 65 from 10 to 11 am, 70 from 11 to noon, and the high most of this week is between 78 and 80. There is no way I am going to stay inside on the computer when there is no chance of rain in the forecast. We're filling up the pool and I'm going outside to play with my dog and pull some weeds, and maybe get wet. We are also airing out the tent to get ready for camping later this month. May God Bless you all and grant you the contentment of a bright sunny day!

XOXO TTownRobin

Monday, June 4, 2007

Jamie and Katie aren't the ONLY celebrities from Toledo

NOW WE HAVE ALYSON STONER! She;s been on Disney TV and movies for years! And I didn't even know she was from here, till I read this on the local news website, 13ABC.com:

People, Places & Things - Local teen succeeds in Hollywood: Alyson Stoner
May 18, 2007 - At thirteen she is already starred in movies, music videos and TV shows. Her name is Alyson Stoner and this "star of tomorrow" is this week's "People, Places and Things."
Alyson Stoner went to Maumee Valley Country Day elementary school up until the second grade. "I still remember all my teachers there. Mrs. Roberts, love her!" That's when a talent convention led to an agent which led to a high profile job as a dancer in a Missy Elliot video.
Alyson Stoner could very well be the next Toledo girl who makes it big in Hollywood. When asked how she would like to be the next Katie Holmes, Alyson replied, "Look how successful she is. That would be an honor. I'm not marrying Tom Cruise."
She is starring in movies with Steve Martin, "Cheaper By the Dozen" and going to premiers with big names like Justin Timberlake, all the while forging an impressive resume in Tinsel Town.
Alyson acknowledges her aspirations, "I'm a really hard worker and really ambitious and if I see that I can reach the next level, I will always go to the next level." When asked what the "next level" is, she stresses a dramatic role and possibly pursuing her singing.
At 13, Stoner is a seasoned professional, but her dancing ability and comedic timing don't always mean steady work in the entertainment industry where the competition is fierce. She has been to numerous "cattle calls" where there are approximately 500 girls who all look very much alike and they all want the same part.
She says perseverance is the key. Acting for her was always something fun for her to do, now it is something she can't live without.
Look for Alyson in a movie called "Alice," currently in post-production, but no release date has been set.
~~~~~~
I watch "one Saturday Morning" Disney cartoons on Channel 13, every Saturday morning, and she guest stars on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" quite a bit.
She hip Hop danced on "Raven" and on "'Zack and Cody" - she's pretty darn good!

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Updates and Links all about "our" KATIE HOLMES

FOR RECENT PICTURES OF KATIE, GO THE THIS LINK AT PEOPLE.COM:

http://www.people.com/people/katie_holmes/photos/0,,20005730_20050558,00.html


ALSO AT PEOPLE.COM:

Everything you need to know about Katie Holmes. To be exact: 75 news articles and 211 photos!
as of June 03, 2007 - http://www.people.com/people/katie_holmes


FROM THE TOLEDOBLADE.COM:
Article published Saturday, May 12, 2007

Cruise buys a $35 million family home



Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes pose in this March 22, 2007 file photo. ( ASSOCIATED PRESS )


Zoom Photo ReprintsFROM THE BLADE WIRE SERVICES




Despite speculation that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are having marital problems, he just bought a Beverly Hills home for his family that cost close to $35 million.The three-time Oscar nominee has been renting another house in Beverly Hills for the last few years, and his lease will be up in 2008.The property that Cruise bought was not on the market. The traditional-style residence was built in 1937 with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms and expanded from its original 10,000 square feet after it changed hands four years ago, according to real estate sources not involved in the deal.The home, behind gates, is on 1.3 acres. It has a long driveway, a tennis court and a pool.Cruise, 44, and Holmes, 28, were married in November in Italy before a crowd of celebrity friends that included David and Victoria Beckham.Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors, having starred in five consecutive films that grossed $100 million in the United States — including “Mission: Impossible” (1996) and “Jerry Maguire” (1996). The actor has won three Golden Globe Awards.

FROM ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
All About Katie Holmes/ Search

http://search.ew.com/EWSearch/ew/search/search.html?search=katie+holmes&x=20&y=12


AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST - THE MOST COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE INFO ABOUT TOLEDO'S "OWN" KATIE HOLMES

Channel 13, ABC.com - TOMKAT PUBLICITY SECTION!!
"We Google TomKat so you don't have to!"

Katie is ready for more kids!
June 1, 2007-- LOS ANGELES (AP) - Being the mother of Tom Cruise's baby daughter has been so much fun that Katie Holmes tells "Entertainment Tonight" she's ready to have more children. "We're having the best time, it's so amazing," Holmes, 28, said of the year she and Cruise have spent largely out of the spotlight. She gave birth to the couple's first child, Suri, in April 2006.
"Yes, definitely," she told the TV program when asked about the possibility of more kids. The interview airs Monday.
Cruise and his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, have a 12-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, and Holmes said the role of stepmother is one she relishes. "The kids are so sweet, they're so great with Suri and she lights up when she sees them," she said. "We have so many kids in our house, there's always this wonderful chatter and the great noise of kids."
The actress, who recently returned to work filming the movie "Mad Money" with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah, said her 44-year-old husband has played a key role in making the transition to motherhood an easy one. "He's a great father and so it came to no shock that when we had Suri he was amazing with the baby," she said.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=entertainment&id=3508497




Katie Holmes Says She Wants More Kids
SATURDAY JUNE 02, 2007 08:30 AM EDT
By Emily Fromm, People Magazine

Katie Holmes


Photo by: Lester Cohen / WireImage

Katie Holmes is having so much fun with her (very polite!) 1-year-old daughter Suri, she's ready for more kids.

Asked by Entertainment Tonight if she wants to expand her brood, Holmes, 28, replied: "Yes, definitely." (Her interview with ET airs Monday.)

Holmes and husband Tom Cruise, 44, have spent the year since Suri was born largely out of the spotlight, and Holmes says of their time as a family, "We're having the best time, it's so amazing."

Now, Holmes is back to work, filming the comedy Mad Money with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah in Shreveport, La., where she's made a tradition of treating the cast and crew to snow cones, pizza and cupcakes.

Back at home in L.A. with Cruise and his children Isabella, 14, and Conner, 12 (with ex-wife Nicole Kidman), the mood is similarly festive: "We have so many kids in our house, there's always this wonderful chatter and the great noise of kids."

Conner and Bella, she says, "are so sweet, they're so great with Suri and she lights up when she sees them." The same can be said for their dad: "He's a great father and so it came to no shock that when we had Suri he was amazing with the baby."

Thursday, May 24, 2007

While I'm complaining - how about those GAS PRICES? I WANT TO GO TO CEDAR POINT!

UPDATE ON CEDAR POINT!
Accident at Cedar Point's Magnum hurts three
2007-05-26
By Robert Niles: The big news at Cedar Point today was supposed to be the long-awaited opening of the new Intamin coaster Maverick. Instead, attention turned to an older coaster, Magnum, after a load station collision that left three people needing medical attention.

The incident happened around noon, according to multiple reports. An incoming train failed to stop in its block zone, bumping into a train waiting to leave the station. Two people were treated by medical staff and the park and released. A third was taken to a local hospital.

THIS IS VERY RARE. I STILL WANT TO RIDE IT. ONE OF THESE DAYS...


FOR TONS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BEST ROLLER COASTER PARK IN THE WORLD, GO TO http://www.cedarpoint.com/


I am dying to go to CEDAR POINT and ride the new MAVERICK ride.(left)

Not sure if the link will work for you, but here is the VIDEO of our Channel 24 weatherman, riding the MAVERICK:
VIDEO: Norm's Maverick Adventure








I have still not ever ridden the Top Thrill Dragster (left) I'm terrified that it will break my neck, with my Klippel-Feil Syndrome..but I want to ride it, BAD!








My VERY FAVORITE RIDE IS THE MILLENNIUM FORCE - really smooth, and doesn't bother my neck at all. (left)


Actually the hardest part about a day at Cedar point is that I'm limping by dinner time, and my neck is so stiff that it takes me 3 days to recuperate. But - if I have enough medication - it's well worth that one week of excruciating pain.



With gas at my corner station, Gas-n-Go, one of the cheapest places on the east Side being $3.51 per gallon, there is no way we are going this summer.
For most of the gas prices in and around Toledo, go to http://www.toledogasprices.com/

FROM THE FOX NEWS WEBSITE:

Despite Gas Prices, Cedar Point Expecting Good Holiday Crowd - GOODY GOODY FOR THEM
Dated: 05/24/2007 12:36:09 PM

A Cedar Point spokesman says the amusement park in Sandusky expects big Memorial Day weekend crowds, despite high gasoline prices. AAA says attractions throughout the state have reason to be optimistic. A spokeswoman for the auto club in Ohio says people still intend to travel over the holiday weekend but will try to hold down other costs, besides gas. That might mean staying at less expensive hotels or avoiding pricey restaurants. The auto club reports the cost of filling up keeps going up in Ohio. Gas has reached another record high Thursday, averaging $3.36 per gallon for regular.

Hope YOU get to go!
XO TTR

Toledo's Veteran's Memorial Skyway Bridge set to open with a celebration tonight!


UPDATE: I AM SO ANGRY ! On Channel 36 FOX News at 10:00 they just showed the FABULOUS FIREWORKS DISPLAY AND LED LIGHT SHOW from the new bridge, AND I MISSED IT!! ARRGGHHHHH!!! DAMMIT! I missed the East Toledo Historical Society Meeting that was at 7 pm at the East Toledo Senior Center because I mowed the stupid grass, fearing that we would get rain for 3 days, as the weatherman predicted this morning...then I saw the weather at 10, and here it is dissipating and I could have done it tomorrow, INSTEAD OF GETTING ALL YUCKY AND TIRED AND MISSING THE FIREWORKS AND LIGHT SHOW. I'm SO MAD, I COULD SQUISH A GRAPE!! It would have been a free thing for us to go do, on a BEAUTIFUL evening, within walking distance...darn.




SOMEONE PLEASE,WRITE IN SOMETHING TO
MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!!

The Veterans' Glass City Skyway (VGCS) is scheduled to open in June 2007, and will serve as the Signature Landmark for Toledo. Since the project began, public participation has been a vital process of this project, and now that the finish line is in sight, we want the public to celebrate the completion of this amazing project with a free Dedication Ceremony. We are currently in the planning process of the Ceremony and hope to include a few words from some of the team that has made the building of this landmark on the Toledo Skyline possible, a dedication ceremony, a Run/Walk hosted by the Toledo Roadrunners beginning at the Riverside YMCA and a Veterans’ Parade. Details of the Ceremony will be released as soon as they are finalized. The project team will provide a minimum of four weeks notice when the opening date is confirmed. The notice will be released via our normal media channels and via a special notification list.Use (Look Up Toledo's) Mailing List Form if you would like to be added to the “VGCS Bridge Dedication Date” distribution list.More information about the Run/Walk event is available on the Toledo Roadrunners web site.

Some Enlightened EveningCall For Information 419 - 206 - 0398View PDF Version Return To Iron Workers Home Page
On Thursday, May 24, 2007, we will gather on Toledo's Waterfront at the Marina District to celebrate the grand opening of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway.
It was 1988 when a group of local leaders identified a new Maumee River crossing as the region's top transportation priority. That group, now known as the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force, began years of planning and development. In the spring of 2002, ground was broken on the casting yard off Front Street. Some 3,045 concrete segments, miles of steel strand and hundreds of noise wall panels later, the Skyway is scheduled for completion this spring.
It is an accomplishment worthy of a landmark celebration. We're calling the one-of-a-kind grand opening gala "Some Enlightened Evening," in part because the bridge's main pylon will be the world's first to feature illuminated glass panels. Yet the night is also cause for the city, indeed the region, to shine. The Skyway stands as a testament to the power of collaboration. Of perseverance. And of sacrifice. Proceeds from the evening will be used to construct a permanent memorial that recognizes, honors and memorializes all of the people who have given so much to see it completed.
Our goal has been to involve the public at every step, and we have enjoyed unprecedented support. I look forward to one last community gathering to celebrate this once-in-a-generation dream becoming a reality. Please take a moment to review the enclosed sponsorship materials for the grand opening gala, and thank you in advance for your consideration.Sincerely,Steve Nathanson, Chairman, Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force Chief Planning Officer, Mercy Health Partners

MAY 24, 2007. TOLEDO'S NIGHT TO SHINE!
Some Enlightened Evening, the Veterans' Glass City Skyway grand opening gala, will be a dazzling night of light inspired by the Skyway's unique LED-illuminated pylon. Come see the pylon aglow in a remarkable array of colors. Come see a breathtaking fireworks show. Come celebrate the opening of our newest regional jewel in the Marina District -- site of the next wave of Toledo's renaissance!But most importantly, come honor all those who helped create this signature landmark.
THE VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY OUR LANDMARK BRIDGE
Single largest project ODOT has undertaken. World's first cable-stayed bridge pylon to include glass panels. State-of-the-art LED pylon lighting capable of 16.7 million color combinations. First U.S. bridge to have stainless steel sheathing on the stay cables. 156-strand stay cables are the largest ever for a cable-stayed bridge. One of the first to use stay cradle system in the pylon. At its peak the bridge project employed 400 workers from local unions.


SOMEONE I KNEW AND LOVED('s ashes) ARE INSIDE THE TIP OF THE VETERANS MEMORIAL SKYWAY BRIDGE.
ARCHIVE: October 17, 2005
VETERANS’ GLASS CITY SKYWAY MAIN PYLON REACHES FINISHED HEIGHT
(TOLEDO – OCTOBER 17) – After more than three years of work, the center pylon of the Maumee River Crossing (MRC) Bridge is complete. Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Gordon Proctor, various elected officials and representatives from the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway Task Force were in attendance at a “Topping Off” ceremony as the final section was placed on the top of the pylon.
“Topping off the pylon is a major milestone for ODOT and the citizens of Toledo,” said Proctor. “This one-of-a-kind pylon will make the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway bridge a lasting landmark for the entire northwest Ohio region.”
The 400-foot tall concrete pylon is the central structural element of the bridge. The pylon will be the second-tallest structure in Toledo and will not only be unique to Ohio, but also to the world. The top 185 feet of the pylon will contain glass curtain walls that will be internally illuminated by 350 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). These LEDs can make the pylon any color or combination of colors and will be visible for miles.
Other project milestones that are complete include: all foundation and pier work (bridge structure), all concrete segments for the main span and bridge approaches and all ramps. Work on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project began in March 2002 and is now 80 percent complete. The completion date is scheduled for the end of calendar year 2006.
At a construction cost of $220 million, the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway bridge is the largest single construction project in ODOT history. The Veterans’ Glass City Skyway bridge will replace the outdated Craig Memorial lift bridge, which stops Interstate 280 traffic an average of 500 times per year, causing congestion and creating safety problems.
The Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project is a prime example of the types of projects supported by Governor Bob Taft’s Jobs and Progress Plan. The 10-year, $5 billion Jobs and Progress Plan will rebuild Ohio’s highway network, address high-crash and congested locations and complete Ohio’s rural macro-corridors.
Over the next 10 years, northwest Ohio will see a historic investment of almost $500 million dollars. Lucas County alone will see an investment of $250 million to construct projects that will reduce congestion and accidents by rehabilitating Interstate 75, widening Interstate 475 and upgrading outdated interchanges.
“The Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project and all of the Jobs and Progress projects are more than just building a bridge or highway to solve a traffic problem,” Proctor said. “They represent the largest investment into our infrastructure since the original creation of the highway system.”
For more information, contact:
print_mail_to_link("Joe Rutherford","Joe.Rutherford")

Joe Rutherford, ODOT District 2 PIO, at 419-373-4471 or visit the project Web site at http://www.lookuptoledo.org/

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sorry, moved post to correct blog: "My East Side So-Called Life".
It's all about being "not-well-to-do", also known as: poor as dirt.
Here's the link to it:http://easttoledolife.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Happy Birthday David Cassidy (April 12)

Ever since I fell in love with David Cassidy at the tender age of 12, I have remembered David's birthday every year! Hope you have many many more!

Welcome Home Richard Bolbach! We all miss you! Richard came home for one day just to see Kalidoscope, performed by his formewr classmates at Toledo School for the Arts. It was AWESOME.
Have a safe trip back to Tennessee, and COME BACK SOON!
Thanks Richard's Dad, for driving him all the way here, for just one night!!
(Richard, here, even wore his "birthday hat" that he made, for you!!)

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Another Bridge accident - May God rest his soul

EAST TOLEDOANS WOKE UP TO THIS NEWS AND THE SOUND OF SIRENS AT APPROX. 9:00 AM THIS MORNING:

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A construction worker died from fall from bridge in Toledo, Ohio
4/19/2007, 11:51 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A construction worker died from a fall off a bridge being built near downtown, police said.

A scaffolding collapsed, sending the worker tumbling to the ground below.

The Interstate 280 bridge over the Maumee River is scheduled to open later this year.


It was the second deadly accident since construction on the bridge began. Four workers — including one from Michigan — died when a crane collapsed three years ago.

The bridge will connect the Ohio Turnpike and I-75 and crosses the Maumee River, just north of downtown Toledo."

THE BRIDGE IS DUE FOR GRAND OPENING ON MAY 24, 2007, AND IS SET TO BE OPEN FOR USE BY CARS BY JUNE 2007. NO NEWS YET ON CHANGES THAT MAY INCUR. I'm am in no rish to use the HUGE bridge myself. I prefer the old one.

I pray for this man's family and hope that they find comfort.
TTR XOXO

Adding my blog to MY BLOG LOG

I am adding my TTOWN TRIPPIN BLOG to My BLOG LOG...so here is how I have to do it...
I have to add this tag:



I keep getting an error message that MY TAG IS BROKEN. To hell with it - I don't have all day. if anyone can help me - PLEASE HELP ME!! Thanks.

Will write more soon!
Trying to get started but it's been busy, busy, busy!!
Xo TTR

Sunday, February 4, 2007

KATIE-BLOG:Toledo's Own Katie Holmes-Cruise

TO BE UPDATED. THIS IS THE LAST POST ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH KATIE, FROM MY OLD BLOG. WILL ADD PICTURES AND NEW LINKS BEFORE THE END OF JUNE 2007... HARPER'S BAZAAR COVER TEXT (I LOVE IT!!):

"but UNDERNEATH IT ALL, KATIE HOLMES WILL ALWAYS BE a MUD HEN."
by Adam Rappaport
Info below can be also read at the
"TOMKAT PUBLICITY SECTION"
The TOLEDO BLADE at www.toledoblade.com
The TomKat Publicity Section [The Blade] Google[s] TomKat so you don't have to! February 2-- Katie is rumored to be in an upcoming movie, "Mad Money," with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. The movie is about a heist pulled off by three female Federal Reserve employees. And she definitely won't be in the 'Batman Begins' sequel because of 'scheduling conflicts.' And in the March Harper's Bazaar, she reveals stuff about being Mrs. Cruise, like that he makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

January 15, 2007-- Leaked reports about a TomKat cruise around New Zealand. And now we find out that famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli declined to sing at the TomKat nuptials because they were of the Scientololgy vein. January 11, 2007-- Kidnap Baby Suri?!?! Tom and Kate fear this. According to Fox News. See the family here, sporting giant sunglasses, possibly as a disguise.

January 4, 2007-- After a year of non-stop publicity, TomKat is so low profile, we can't even come up with anything new on the vast tundra of the internet. When we searched Tom Cruise at imdb.com, we find two movies upcoming: Lions for Lambs in pre-production and Selling Time, merely 'announced.' The first is a war movie set in Afghanistan, directed by Robert Redford. The other is a Spike Lee Joynt that is billed as thriller/horror. An imdb search for Katie ends, alas, with her 2005 role in Thank You for Smoking.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT FROM EARLIER, I'VE INCLUDED SOME OF THE WEDDING LINKS:
December 13, 2006-- What's little Suri getting for Christmas? Word has it that one thing is that cute pink trike pictured at right. And other fine items from Petit Tresor. And check out this slideshow of the dark-haired angel in Rome. December 6, 2006-- Big party! Let's go!!

NEW YORK (AP) - Newlyweds Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will celebrate their nuptials with a post-wedding party in Los Angeles this weekend. A reception/cocktail party will be held Saturday at the home of Hollywood power couple Paula Wagner, who is Cruise's producing partner, and Rick Nicita, the actor's agent, Arnold Robinson, a spokesman for Cruise, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The party is "for friends (who) were not able to attend the wedding in Italy," Robinson said. December 4, 2006-- Honeymoon cut short!! Bad weather, as in incessant tropical storms, menaced the fabulous duo and baby Suri in the Maldives. They have returned home to Hollywood. And is this the "yacht" upon which said honeymoon took place? Oooh, so romantic. NOT. Anyway, a second honeymoon is in the planning stages.

Nov. 25 -- Tom Cruise is to release a record with new wife Katie Holmes, it has been claimed. The actor - who tied the knot with the 'Batman Begins' actress in Italy last Saturday (11.18.06) - has reportedly decided to release a rendition of 'You' ve Lost That Lovin' Feeling' with Katie after serenading his new wife with the tune at their wedding reception. A source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "Tom's got a great voice. And he loves that song ever since his 'Top Gun' character Maverick sang it to woo his love interest Kelly McGillis. Katie proved how talented she is musically when she performed in 'The Singing Detective' remake." Tom's vocal talents did not go unnoticed by several music producers who attended his wedding, and the couple have apparently been offered staggering sums to sign an exclusive record deal. The only hurdle in the way of their chart success, however, is said to be Tom's obsession with Scientology. The source added: "Music chiefs know it would be a massive hit so they don't want to lose all the money to a bizarre religious following. And record labels are reluctant to be associated with the strange faith. However, Tom is adamant. He said the song is a symbol of their love and Scientology is a basis for their companionship."

Nov. 22-- Check out the whole (such as it was) wedding story here. Now that a total of ONE picture has been released of their Armani outfits, they've moved on to honeymoon in the Maldives, where, much like in Bracciano, the natives wish TomKat would come out and greet them. Good luck. If anyone objects to the posting of these pictures, please notify me and I will remove them IMMEDIATELY. Awesome pic of "our" Katie and "our" Mrs. Holmes!! Mrs. Holmes looks pissed. (damn Paparazzi..) 'reminds me SO much of my mom and my first mother-in-law, together...strained.. Out with the new kids.


On the cover of GQ (which is where the title pic came from...) quote at top written by Adam Rappaport when she was still "our" little girl TIME SURE FLIES!! NOW look at "our baby!!" She's all growed up, with a baby of her own: pic of beautiful Suri From: http://www.planettomcruise.com/
Kate's most recent photo shoot and magazine cover: Harper's Bazaar Febuary 1st, 2007 found at: http://www.justjared.com/tags/katie-holmes/

"Katie Holmes dishes it in the March 2007 issue of Harper’s Bazaar as photographed by Peter Lindbergh. Check for it on newsstands starting Feb. 20. Here are some choice excerpts from Katie’s interview: On how great life is: “I feel very lucky. I have a husband and children that I adore. I have a career that I really love. When I sit back and reflect, it’s - wow! I am very grateful. Tom makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world and has since the day I met him. I love being with him. I love calling him husband.” On her first date with Tom: “Here in Los Angeles, my first motorcycle ride…to the beach. It was amazing and fast. I was in love from the moment that I shook his hand for the first time.” On motherhood: “I felt so proud to be having a baby and so excited. And I felt closer to other women-to my sisters, to my mom. I felt empowered, like ‘I’ve given birth. I did it! There’s nothing I can’t handle… I’ve really enjoyed this time that I have taken to be with Suri as well as the challenges of the first couple of months: feeding and pumping, learning to decipher what each cry means-is she hungry? Is she tired? Does she need a fresh diaper? And figuring out how to really help her.” On her career: “I have a whole new set of responsibilities. My work is very important to me. My family is very important to me. When I go to work, it will be the right thing, worth my time and worth my time away from my family.”

pic that I tried to post (soon to be reposted) below from: http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/category/katie-holmes/

Miss Sophistocated and, yep...all grown up...

CYA, TTR xoxo - OVER AND OUT.