Superbowl Commercials!!!

Here's a tease of what we can expect from at least one advertiser during the Superbowl:

Frank's Local Artist of the Month - Alli Beaudry!

How cool to have live music in the Frank FM studio! Alli Beaudry is the January Local Artist of the Month. Check her live in studio performance on Thursday, January 14, 2010. Presented by Frank FM and www.livemusicne.com.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It's that time again. The time of year that we make those nasty, creepy New Year's resolutions. You know, the things you should do anyway, no matter what the date on the calendar. (Hey, that's a good idea..... I should invent "2nd Tuesday of the Month Resolutions." Whaddya think?)

For several years in a row, except for the last couple years, my resolution has been, "Don't die." Like Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," it was as optimistic as I could have managed during that time in my life. This year, however, is different. I have had some really positive things happen, which I am super grateful for! So this year, I gotta come up with something better.... and here it is:

Treat myself AT LEAST as good as I treat the ones I love. You know, I didn't put that in capital letter or italics or anything.... Let's try that again, shall we? TREAT MYSELF AT LEAST AS GOOD AS I TREAT THE ONES I LOVE. There. Much better. This resolution is quite a revelation for me. Never before have I felt like I had not been treating myself very well, but, in fact, I haven't. I am quite critical sometimes about ME in my head. (that inner voice that can be so destructive... so loud..... that HUMAN voice that is NOT our true selves, but a product of our life experience.) My body, my intelligence, my lack of.... whatever.... talent, bigger body parts, smaller body parts, etc..... all make an appearance from time to time in this brain of mine exposed in not the best of light. As a consequence, I accept things in my life that I should not. Circumstances, behavior, (of others AND my own) and I resolve to change that. It's not fair to ME. The body part I am most critical of, my thighs, for instance, have been very, very good to me. My legs have taken me on many walks in many incredible, beautiful places, foreign and domestic. We don't even have to get that fancy. They are there when I want to get up from my chair and walk to the refrigerator to get a soda. Oh, how I take that for granted. Some can't do that at all and would love the opportunity. So, NO MORE dissing my thighs! I love them! As a matter of fact, I am going to kiss them right now! ...... OH! Not a good idea. That kinda hurt.

I hope your resolutions are not going to be too tough for you. Why do you need another "something" in your life that just makes you feel bad? You've got enough of that already, don't you? Let's get rid of all that this year. As Steve Perry once said in that Journey Classic Hit, "Be good to yourself."

Wait.... We can come up with something better, can't we?

How about: "YOU "KEN" IN TWO THOUSAND TEN!!!" No... How about: "NO MORE PENCILS..... ONLY PENS IN TWO THOUSAND TEN!!...." ??? Oh boy, Sullivan.... That's not even what we are talking about.....

Happy New Year!

~Sarah

"2012": Controversy? What Controversy?

I just took my two teenage daughters to see the latest world-is-coming-to-an-end-and-we're-all-going-to-die movie, "2012". Knowing very little about the #1 film - other than having a rudimentary understanding of the plot - I went with the expectation that I'd be amazed by the technical wizardry, thrilled by the action, and blown away by explosions. And while I experienced all three of those things, something else happened.

I was moved.

Just to get you caught up, the movie is based on an ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. Through the story, we follow a man and his estranged family try to cope with the imminent doom approaching them, and enjoy a (moderately) happy ending. Formulaic? Yes. Believeable? Perhaps...not. But controversial? Why?

This filem has been fraught with controversy. Some say it's creating unnecessary angst at the thought that the Mayans might have been correct (Are you worried? I'm not). Others are upset that it openly praises communist China (it doesn't). And religious leaders condemn the fact that several Christian symbols - like the Sistine Chapel and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro - are shown being destroyed. Yes, that happens in the movie. But you know what? If the earth's core was to suddenly burst through the crust from all corners of the globe - at least a few things are going to get broken. To me, as a Christian, seeing these symbols destroyed was more moving than offensive.

So a whole lot of controversy for nothing. As for the movie itself, I thought it was very well done. Yes, you could anticipate certain things happening: estranged family pulls together, entie cities are reduced to rubble, human race survives. But three things impressed me. One, as magnificent as the graphics were, I never felt the director was showing off - what I was witnessing was, indeed, the sheer magnitude of the destruction of the earth, and that could only truly be accomplished with the effects they used. Second, I ws pleased to know the writers didn't use this world-destruction movie as a platform to push a political agenda. I was all set to be inundated with dire warnings about global warming - but not one surfaced.

Thirdly - and most impressively - I found myself emotionally moved at times. As much chaos as there was going on around the characters, the director still managed to not lose sight of the humanity of the story. This is in stark contrast to the movie "Deep Impact," in which there were so many characters, one was hard pressed to feel anything for any of them.

So go see the movie. Don't try to read too much into it, don't try to find the social subtext, don't find fault with the dialogue. Allow yourself to be taken away for 2 1/2 hours...and enjoy the story, for the story's sake.

Update on the fate of Aerosmith

Last night, Joe Perry performed a show in NYC. Steven Tyler got up on stage with him and claimed, "New York, I want you to know.... I am not leaving Aerosmith." Then he said something about Joe Perry being a man of many colors, but he was the MF rainbow! Okay, I could have done without that last comment, but that's Steven, baby! I'm just happy that he's not leaving the band. I'm sorry, Joe, but there is no replacing Steven. You see how well things have worked out for Van Halen, right? I mean, Hagar has SOME fans, but there was never really a replacement for DL Roth.

Steven also went on to say:

"You know what it is, it's those people who are putting out his album. Joe's doing a solo album. So people are paying attention to that."

Yes, Joe is currently out promoting his new album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel", which came out last month.

Steven also said that he too is working on a solo record, but we've heard that before... maybe it's true this time as he is booking solo gigs. We shall see.

Here's the video of Steven on stage last night with the band: