Joel Reagan

Old. New. Yeah, it's just a list.


1. Seabird -- Rocks Into Rivers
You come for a radio hit like "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" and you stay for songs like "Finally Done Right" "This Road" and "The Good King."


2. The Beach Boys -- Pet Sounds
I'm not a musician so I can't fully grasp the genius of this record. But as someone who grew up with the Beach Boys (my dad owns everything they ever put out), I just took for granted how good they were. In the past year or so, I feel like I've come to appreciate this album even more.


3. Switchfoot -- Hello Hurricane
Song after song, this album is solid. And not just radio hit solid, really AWESOME! "Red Eyes" and "Sing It Out" are personal faves.


4. Dynamic Twins -- No Room 2 Breathe
If you liked early 90s Christian Rap/Hip-Hop like me, this would be THE album, an album you take on the deserted island. It could be because I listened to this ALL the time while driving around in my 1986 Nissan Stanza while in high school, but every song is AWESOME! D2 was the closest (with the exception of Idol King and Freedom of Soul) to their mainstream counterparts.


5. Jars Of Clay -- The Shelter
At first glance, an album with so many collaborators might be iffy. However, this one my favorite albums to relax to. Great lyrics and vibe.

I've seen this a lot lately. A last name is referenced early in an article. Later in the article, the person's full name is listed. You can find an example in this article
(Look for the McHale reference).
Did an editor move a paragraph up or down or is it on the writer?
The Oklahoman late sports editor Bob Colon used to tell me, "Joel, it's the little things that will kill you."
Now, let me spell-check this blog post. :-)

So, I decided to play some tunes off my iPod Touch (my old iPhone - hence the "No Service" on the screen).

I decided to do a genius playlist based off of CCR's Proud Mary. You would think I would get mainly classic rock and oldies songs in that playlist. I did end up with some of that, but there were a lot of weird choices, too.

Streaming/hard drive-based movies and TV shows will eventually replace Blu-Ray and DVD.

But, half of the fun in our house is watching our dog, Asta (named for a movie character*), try and bite the DVD drawer as we open and close it over and over. (Sometimes, it outshines the movie).

Then again, if he ever succeeds and bites off the drawer -- we might be streaming movies faster than we expected.

* Asta was the dog in The Thin Man movies back in the 1930s.

1. I had to leap up and get some rice from the back of the top shelf. That's not very easy for a short, fat guy like me. On the second try, I snagged the Uncle Ben's box. I joked that I pulled a muscle. Or was I joking?
2. Some guy was pushing a grocery cart with the race car in front (you know the kind that kids ride in). Only weird thing, there wasn't a kid present. Maybe he lost a bet??
Carry on.

Are you that bored that you want to ask me a question? Ask it at http://formspring.me/joelontheradio or e-mail me at joel-AT-joelontheradio.com (replace AT with @)

We saw the sun briefly a couple of times (including once while I flew away). No mudslides, just a lot of rain. They tell me this is the rainy season for Northern California.

I think sometimes there is a disconnect between the tech community and the real world. Google is finding that out with their Google Buzz product. Facebook has had issues with their privacy changes in the past.
Do these groups (and others that make up Web 3.0 or 3.0.9 or whatever) really make an effort to find out how the average user consumes their content and/or uses their product? I don't know.
With that said, the outrage over Facebook's new homepage changes in my "social circle" was ridiculous. At any little change, everyone throws up their hands because the change zaps the power out of their mouse to look for things (like, how to logout). They moan, complain and join groups that moan and complain. They shake their fists at Facebook and vow to quit. But, they don't. Why?
Where are they going? MySpace?
That would be a no.
Tech companies need to do a better job dealing with real users. Users need to do a better job learning the technology instead of saying "I'm not really that good with computers." Sorry, it's not 1995. The world is changing.
Let's meet halfway.

First, a high school coach at Olathe Northwest High School hit a half-court shot while blindfolded.

OK, pretty good. What about a Fox 4 TV reporter covering the story?

I wonder what the ONW Ravens' half-court shooting percentage is this year? Do they keep that stat? Of course, someone does.

To be honest, I think the reporter had a harder shot. Even with the spinning around, the teacher knew he was facing a goal and set himself to reorient his body to the basket. The reporter threw the ball over his head, not knowing where he was in relation to the goal.

Of course, I'm not sure all of this warrants a whole blog post. . . Oh well.

Reports vary, but the jist of the story is after Morris hit his shot he immediately started sprinting in the direction of the Romeo bench. Fellow players and fans followed and eventually wound up being a little too close and even on the Bulldogs bench. Words were exchanged and somebody got physical because the officials called a technical foul for excessive celebration on someone from Dakota, giving the Bulldogs two freethrows.

"The buzzer went off as the ball went through the hoop," Cougars coach Bill Snyder said. "There was clearly no time left on the clock."

Morris made the shot into the basket in front of the Dakota bench.

At the other end of the court, Cougars players, coaches and fans flooded the floor in celebration, believing, Snyder said, the game was over.

Snyder said he stayed on the court to help restore order; in the meantime, Dakota's players went to their dressing room.

According to Michigan High School Athletic Association rules, officials can call a foul, in this case a technical foul, as long as they have not left the court.

"I turned it over to our athletic department," Snyder said. "We played last night (Tuesday) and we're preparing for our next game. Right now it's the furthest thing from my mind."

Are you that bored that you want to ask me a question? Ask it at http://formspring.me/joelontheradio or e-mail me at joel-AT-joelontheradio.com (replace AT with @)

Did the dust bowl/Black Sunday of the '30s affect your part of Kansas (KC)?

I dunno. I wasn't around for the Dust Bowl. I would assume it affected south central Kansas (much more flat like Oklahoma) more than the KC metro. Although, KC was a cow town back then and I'm sure cattle trade in KC was affected. This is all off the top of my head. You better fact-check my answers.

Who invented the Christmas tree?

According to Christian lore, the Christmas tree is associated with St Boniface and the German town of Geismar. Sometime in St Boniface's lifetime (c. 672-754) he cut down the tree of Thor in order to disprove the legitimacy of the Norse gods to the local German tribe. St. Boniface saw a fir tree growing in the roots of the old oak. Taking this as a sign of the Christian faith, he said "...let Christ be at the center of your households..." using the fir tree as a symbol of Christianity.
Ya' know, you can look this stuff on Wikipedia.

What is the difference between a hotel and a motel?

Sorry, I'm not gonna type that out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel

Is that Pinto still available?

No, my dad sold it . . . in 1982.

Why does the refrigerator door close itself, but the freezer door stays open?

The auto-close mechanism in the freezer . . . froze.

What do people in China call their good plates?

Oklahoma plates

Why is an alarm clock going "off" when it is actually "on" and ringing loudly?

Because you're about ready to knock the alarm clock "off" the nightstand.

Is the hokey pokey what it is REALLY all about?

It used to be what it's all about about. How else would you know the lyrics of a song that's nearly 70 years old.

Why?

Why not?

why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

Historically, the term "parkway" has often implied that the road was designed specifically with a naturalistic or manicured landscaping of the median and adjacent land areas meant to suggest a pastoral driving experience, isolated from the manifestations of commerce and advertising, even when the road passes through populated areas; for this reason commercial traffic is excluded. (Thanks Wikipedia)

My guess on driveway is that housing in a more rural society usually came with a long road that they maybe called a driveway. You came up or down the drive to the house, but I'm totally making that up.

Have you ever thought of going back to sports writing on the net as a side gig. Kind of as a paying hobby? Nothing wrong with a little extra dosh, eh? :-)

Oh sure. I actually worked in sports radio doing production and hosting a high school football scoreboard show for 5-6 years. Then, I did basketball play-by-play for a year. Print media is suffering (probably more) than radio is suffering. Business models are changing and free-lance gigs aren't as plentiful as they were when I got my first newspaper job. But, I still dabble in sports and journalism in general a little bit.

Best advice someone gave you?

It came from one of my college professors at the University of Central Oklahoma. It was advice he gave to all of us about pagination (newspaper page layout), but it makes sense in the way I approached my production, my shows, etc.
I am paraphrasing here: Know the rules and follow them, but know when to break the rules. When you break them, you better be able to explain why you did it - why it had to be this way.

If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?

My wife would probably say that I would say Chili's, but I'm not so sure. Something that had a lot of variety. Can you imagine, 5 years? Maybe Chili's/Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. Can they make a combo place?

How come you left kcradio.com? I missed the announcement.

I am leaving kcradio.com to go work for another broadcast group. I'll still be based in Kansas City, but this group is national. It's a different kind of job (not a DJ job), but I am excited. At the same time, I will miss the kcradio.com listeners, but I know that kcradio.com has a bright future.

Why did you decide to go into radio?

What a sad story that is! LOL My uncle works in radio and my first visit was to a little station he worked at in southern Oklahoma, KSEO in Durant (which is still there BTW). As a kid, I was always "playing radio" with friends (my Hot 101 station on

Do you regret telling people to call the comment line at kcradio as often as they want?

Not at all, it was pure entertainment. I was thinking about dropping cable because of it.

What has kept you in the radio business in spite of the lack of job security?

It's kind of like riding a roller coaster and yes, I have thought about getting off the ride. However, I still get excited about the biz, but more importantly where media will be in the future (not in a traditional sense). I think job security will change in a bunch of areas (not just radio) in the future.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

sorta both

If you were stranded on a desert island, which one person would you bring with you?

My wife