Wow, four years ago today was my very first blog entry here on HOT1079.com.  It was surprisingly personal and covered a lot of my friends from a recent trip to Boston.  Obviously, if you've been following, my style has changed over the years (as have the general trends of blogging everywhere) but I hope you've enjoyed reading as much I've enjoyed writing. 

Here's my very favorite blog entry that I ever wrote here on March 27, 2008:

Marty, Shannon and I are always enthusiastic to help out whenever we can, wherever we can.  For example, three weeks ago I got my head shaved for St. Baldrick's, the foundation that fights children's cancer.  In June, we'll be at the AIDS Walk at Beaver Lake Nature Center.  Even the Donkey Basketball game was more than just another silly night out - we helped raise money for the ESM Class of 2010. 

One of my favorite things to do is visit schools and speak to kids about who I am and what I do - it's funny because I never thought I'd be someone talking about my career and giving advice to others.  I do it because I see how I can help not only with giving direction about finding the things you're passionate about and pursuing them, but also about growing up with a disability, coping with it, and overcoming it to do what you want to do.

I got this e-mail today:



I felt tears well up in my eyes as I was reading it.  It means a lot to me to know that what I do means a lot to other people.  Thank you, Kim.

* * * * *

What a ride it's been.  If you want to flash back and see more of the 838 blog entries I've posted, click here.  Tell me your favorite: deafgeoff@hot1079.com

Pitchfork & CultureBelly recently did their own lists of the Top 50 Music Videos of the 90's (neither site chose the same videos) and it made me feel all nostalgic, so I couldn't help but do my own.  The 10 I chose include nine from theirs and one that wasn't on either list.

10. The Verve "Bittersweet Symphony"

Concept: look all broody and walk around bumping into people.  Love it.  Only bummer is, The Verve lost all the money they ever made from this song (their only U.S. hit) because they stole a huge part of the song from a Rolling Stones tune.  Whoops.

9. Lauryn Hill "Everything Is Everything"

Music is all around us.  Literally.  This was the last we really heard from Lauryn Hill, but she went out on top with another anthem of positive hip-hop.  I love the parts where the record gets scratched.

8. Sinead O’Connor "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Risky, bold - even though we later made fun of Sinead for it, this was an awesome video for its time that stood out.  It still stands the best version of this Prince song I've ever heard, too.

7. Notorious B.I.G. "Mo Money, Mo Problems" f/ Puff Daddy & Ma$e

In the late 90's, Puff Daddy ruled the airwaves and had a Top 10 TRL video every week.  The video of the late Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems" had everything - bling, flash, bright colors, goofy dances.  And you know you always got excited when Biggie's part came on.

6. The Pharcyde "Drop"

Spike Jonze had a cool concept - film the guys rapping the song backwards, then play the video backwards and they'd be rapping forwards, in sync with the song.  It looks cool, and Coldplay ripped this off 10 years later for "The Scientist" (and did a much more boring version of it, too).

5. Beck "Loser"

The quintessential slacker anthem of the 90's, coupled with Beck's bizarre lyrics and even odder video style - it was all just too weird not to love.

4. Foo Fighters "Big Me"

If you've ever seen a Mentos commercial, you know why this is awesome.

3. Spice Girls "Wannabe"

This video wasn't on either of the two Top 50 lists I found.  Sacrilege!  Not only did it launch the "Girl Power" movement and immediately identify the Spice Girls and their individual personalities, it's also an incredible video that you probably didn't even realize was made all in one shot.  Don't believe me?  Watch it again.

2. Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity"

Jay Kay in that ridiculous big hat became an icon for Jamiroquai and that groovy hippie-funk that disappeared in the last decade (except for Napoleon Dynamite's stage dance to "Canned Heat").  The video's trippy, but cool - the floor and all four walls are moving!  I want a room like that!

1. Fatboy Slim "Praise You"

This video single-handedly made me love Fatboy Slim.  A love affair that's lasted a lifetime.  First of all, Fatboy's not an egomaniac and only appears for 2 seconds (at the very end, he pops his head in) in his own music video.  Second of all, this is a fun video about an awesomely bad dance troupe that performs for a crowd waiting in line at a L.A. movie theater.  Third of all, it's fake - the "dance community" and the director "Richard Koufey" are fake, both apparitions of genius director Spike Jonze.  Love it. 


Honorable mentions:

- Nine Inch Nails "Closer"
Dark, scary, sexy, and still a timeless classic.

- Missy Elliott "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"
Hype Williams' crazy music video helped Missy Elliott's debut blow up, immediately solidifying her personality and unique style that changed popular music.

- Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"
The crazy conclusion to this video is still mind-blowing, but like Se7en and Fight Club, once you've seen it a few times the 'wow' factor dies off.

- Chris Isaak "Wicked Game"
Simple plot: good-looking singer with a model on the beach. It'll always be sexy, even if it has nothing to do with the song.

- Busta Rhymes "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"
Wow. Hype Williams & Busta Rhymes worked up some crazy voodoo on this fish-eye cam video, and those painted faces under blacklights looked like an awesome house party that you wanted to be invited to.

- Beastie Boys "Intergalactic"
Adrock, Mike D & MCA always made fun videos and this one added a cool storyline involving robots, aliens, spaceships and mad scientists.

- Michael & Janet Jackson "Scream"
Is this still the most expensive music video ever made? Yes. Was it really worth $7 million to make? No. Is it still fun to watch? Yes.

- Massive Attack f/ Tracey Thorn "Protection"
This video does a great job of "storytelling" as the camera follows different stories in a building (get it?) all in one shot. It's understated and awesome, just like the song: understated and awesome.


Did I miss one?  What's your favorite video from the 90's?  Email me at deafgeoff@hot1079.com.

Holy crap, it's scary out there.  There's an alarming number of people who are driving drunk - more than you realize.



Scary fact #1: A new survey of 6,999 people by the Department of Transportation reports that 8% of respondents admitted to driving when they knew they were already legally drunk - that's roughly 17 million Americans.

Scary fact #2: a full 20%, 1 in 5 people admitted they’d driven within two hours of drinking, the AP reports.

Scary fact #3: Drinking drivers reported that they believed that they could drive safely after consuming as many as five drinks in two hours.  False.  Unless you're 500 pounds, that's well over the legal limit.

Scary fact #4: Another 8%, meanwhile, admitted getting in a car even though they believed the driver was intoxicated.

Scary fact #5: The survey also found that the heaviest drinkers were the ones who could not yet legally drink—those between the ages of 16 and 20 had as many as six drinks before putting their cars in gear.

Labor Day is the DOT's annual crackdown on drunk driving, but please... no matter what day it is, don't drink and drive.  You're not only endangering yourself, but you're also putting other people at risk too.  Your car is not just a mode of transportation - if combined with alcohol, it's a lethal weapon.

Read more: Time | Newser.com | DodgeCountyNews

The Frisky & The Daily Beast have posted some interesting statistics on happiness, compiled from various studies.  Who's happy, and who isn't?  Some of the comparisons are absurd, but still... it makes you think...  Take a look at the numbers:

 • Starbucks regulars are 2 percent happier than McDonald's regulars. Maybe it's the coffee?

 • Republicans are 15 percent happier than Democrats.

 • Your grandparents are a little off their rocker, but older people report being 18 percent happier than young folk.

 • Peeps who've gotten hitched are 19 percent happier than those who aren't.

 • Rich people are 27 percent happier than poor people. Duh. Money CAN buy happiness.

 • African-Americans are 8 percent happier than white Americans.

 • If you have a happy friend living within a half-mile radius, you are 42 percent more likely to be happy, too.

 • Both working moms and stay-at-home moms have a 36% chance of being "very happy."

 • Special-ed teachers are 346 percent happier than amusement park operators. 

 • Orthodontists have a 99% chance of being happy. (According to a study published in a orthodontics-industry journal.)

 • Grateful people are 25 percent happier than ingrates.  So say "thank you" a little more often.

 • Americans are 200 percent happier than those living in Cameroon.  (Costa Rica is the happiest country, where 10% live on less than $2 a day.)


Food for thought: "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." (Abraham Lincoln)