On this day in 1861 Congress authorized the first paper money to be issued.
- Now the Government is considering buying out Kinko’s so they can keep print more of it even faster!
Have a great day and I’ll see you back here on Wednesday! And FYI… Podcast #50 is up on the homepage! I talk with special guest Tom Ryan about the heydays of radio on Keener 13!
-Dick
Move over William and Kate… there’s a new Royal couple grabbing the headlines. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has a girlfriend! Hyon-Song-wol is a previously married pop-star who had a string of hits including “Excellent Horse-like Lady”.
- It figures only somebody famous could snag a hottie like Kim Jong Un!
- Kim is apparently so smitten with her, he promised to never have her executed!
- They want the same things all young North Korean couples want: a nice house, a few kids and some food.
A lot of Americans, including politicians, are up in arms over the fact the official United States Team Blazers to be worn by the American Olympic Team were made in China.
- Hey, I’ll give a gold medal to anybody who can find a blazer in this country that wasn’t made in China.
- With all the sweating the athletes do, they’re going to end up with Olympic-Rings-Around-The-Collar!
- Interestingly, the jackets were made by the same 13-year-old girls who will compete as 16-year-olds on the Chinese Gymnastic Team.
There are already rumors flying about wild parties with sex and drugs among U.S. Olympians.
- So apparently Michael Phelps is already in town.
- Don’t think of it as “pot smoking”… think of it as practice for the torch lighting ceremony.
With word that J Lo and Steven Tyler are out as judges at American Idol, Aretha Franklin told the media she’s more than interested in the job.
- Producers of Idol are looking for a young audience, so if I were Aretha I wouldn’t E-X-P-E-C-T a call anytime soon.
Rielle Hunter’s tell-all book about her affair with John Edwards has only sold 6000 copies.
- Not surprising! What could she possibly tell that we didn’t already read about in the National Enquirer?
Russia is considering finally burying the body of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, which has been kept in a glass display case since his death in 1924.
- Moments after the announcement Windex stocks tumbled in the Russian market.
- It’s too bad Michael Jackson isn’t alive. He’d buy Lenin, fly him to the Neverland Ranch, and and put him in a curio cabinet.
- He’s been in a glass case just a year less than the display piece of Cherry Pie at a diner near my house.
On this day in 1439, to halt plague germs from spreading, kissing was outlawed in England.
- So people just crossed the English Channel where they were allowed to French Kiss.
Have a great day and I’ll see you back here Tuesday! In the meantime, check out Podcast (#50) featuring Tom Ryan and our days at Keener 13 radio in the ‘60’s!
-Dick
Hard to believe, but today we air our 50th Podcast! To honor the occassion, Jackie and I welcome my original producer, on-air character voice talent and long time friend Tom Ryan to the table, for a flashback to my start in Detroit radio. 
I’m talking the days when Top 40 AM Radio ruled the airwaves and Keener 13, my home for three incredibly exciting years, was King of the Hill. From Swingin’ Sweeney to DJ’s Swingin’ their fists (honest!), we reminisce about a whole different time in radio - when it was about more than just playing songs back-to-back… it was about entertaining the audience - or at least trying to - and having the freedom to do so!
We talk about some of the earliest characters we did on my show (that still crack me up!). Plus, we explain just exactly how Tom went from being the station’s Switchboard Operator to my on-air voice guy.
Join us as we hit the rewind button to what truly were the Good Old Days!
Have a great weekend!
-Dick
Purtan Podcast #50 (32:11)
Thanks so much to all of you who sent me Birthday wishes thru Facebook, e-mail and here on the website! Your kind words really made my day!
I would love to respond to each one of you individually, but unfortunately my mouse has a virus and a guy in India told me to take it easy today. Besides… there’s a Hitler special coming on that I’ve only seen 357 times.
All in all, it was a great Birthday. (The only thing that would have made it better would have been a free cake from Bill Knapps but, hey, you can’t have your cake and free Slurpee at 7-Eleven too!)
Thanks again and here’s to a great year for us all!
-Dick
A new report claims that American confidence in TV news is at an all-time low.
- Apparently people prefer to get their news off the Internet where they know for sure everything they read is true!
- They are, however, very confident that the women on Fox News are not all natural blonds.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a contest to find a developer who will build 300 square foot micro-apartments in the city.
- I thought a 300 sq. foot apartment in NY was considered a multi-family dwelling.
- He figures by the time you move in a couch and a bed, you won’t have room for any 32 ounce soda pops.
The captain of the Costa Concordia, the giant cruise ship that capsized off the Italian coast, admitted he was distractered by by a phone conversation, but he blamed the disaster on “destiny”.
- He’s right! “Destiny” is the name of the girl he was on the phone with when the ship crashed!
David Lee Roth says that Van Halen would like to do the Super Bowl halftime show.
- At his age, I just hope there’s no “Wardrobe Malfunction”.
On this day in 1543 England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Chaterine Parr, who outlived him.
- Her friends warned her against it, but she decided to stick her neck out and take the plunge!
Have a great day and I’ll see you back here Thursday!
-Dick
Jackie here… Although he may be reluctant to make a big deal out of it… (well, not that reluctant) Today is my Dad’s Birthday! My understanding is that he will celebrate by having a Salmon Blizzard at Dairy Queen and then spend the afternoon returning all the gifts we gave him at his party Sunday.
Have a great day Dad! As the grandkids say… “You Rock!”
With Much Love,
Gail, Jennifer, Neil, Jackie, Tim, Jill, Mark, JoAnne, Eric, Jessica, Chris, Julie, Brad, Matthew, Julia, Lauren, Preston, Charlie, Adam, Jack & Brayden!
Dick here… Thank you Jackie! And now on with the news.
I note that this is “Nude Recreation Week”.
- Which ties in nicely since I’ll be wearing my Birthday suit today!
Studies show that sitting down for more than 3 hours a day may shorten your life by two years.
- Apparently you end up spending those last two years “laying down”.
- For my Birthday I want to see the new movie “The Amazing Spiderman”… but not if it runs longer than 3 hours!
- This explains why Geronimo lived longer that Sitting Bull.
Bad night for starting pitcher Justin Verlander at the All-Star Game Tuesday night! He gave up five runs in the first and only inning he was on the mound and took the loss. Final score. National League 8. American League Zip.
- Rumor has it, Justin is dating model Kate Upton… Apparently he was confused about when he was supposed to think about baseball.
Studies show that pets make children healthier.
- And sometimes make mothers want to pull their hair out.
- Unless the “pet” happens to be a 20 foot long boa constricter that escaped from his cage.