Monday, Monday

Mondays are tough, even under the best circumstances. Doesn't it figure that, just as I'm starting to feel better, those around me are getting sick?

Thanks to Jim Bleikamp for the wonderful piece on seeing Leonard Cohen last week in New York. How jealous am I! He also sent me a note of surprise that people in the warmth of Florida also get the winter flu. Yes we do.

Just as I was sitting down at the computer this morning to prep for and record today's podcast, the phone rang. It was my boyfriend telling me he was headed to the emergency room. To make a long story short-- he's fine. But it's now about five hours later, and my time has been rapidly depleted as I'm off to a dinner tonight that I can't reschedule. Such is life, I guess.

So, here's a brief look at what I would have spoken about today on Radio or Not if I had had time to do it...

I went to see Hall & Oates in concert Friday night. Now, they're no Leonard Cohen, but I've always loved their music. Being the music snob that I am, I prefer the more obscure songs to most of the hits, and I was therefore thrilled when I heard that this would be a mostly-acoustic show, and some of the lesser-known songs would be featured.

They truly won me over with a couple of those from my favorite H&O album, Abandoned Luncheonette: "When the Morning Comes" and "Las Vegas Turnaround".

The problem certainly wasn't with the band, though the sound sucked! (Aside to artists... if you' have no monitors and there's constant feedback, don't just play through it and yell off mic to the roadies... stop down, fix it, and then finish the show!)

The problem at that concert, and most others I attend here in South Florida, is the audience! Obviously these people don't get out much. There were two couples sitting in front of us who decided that the best time to have a long drawn-out conversation was DURING THE SONGS! The two women were sitting together with the men on the outside. These two women didn't shut up for one minute.

I don't get it.. If you have so much to talk about, why do you go to to a concert? Take the conversation to the bar and talk there...

Then there was Guido behind me. I don't know if that was his name, but this was the kind of guy who gives all Italians a bad name. Starting with the thick gold chain around his neck and his attire... a longjohn shirt with the sleeves cut off. This is South Florida and it was an outdoor concert-- and it was chilly... probably around 60 degrees or so. And the cigarette he was smoking and blowing right at us didn't exactly endear him to me.

But when the concert started, this guy apparently thought his was the third voice in the harmonies of Hall & Oates. He was screaming the songs right into my ear.

Isn't a concert supposed to be about listening?

I'm a shusher... but it didn't help me much Friday night.

Ok, now that that's out of my system, I guess I could go on to ask what is wrong with Republicans? I know Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, has presidential aspirations, but does he really think refusing the stimulus money that his state so sorely needs is the way to win over the people of his state? Taking a stand is one thing; doing it to the detriment of the people you've been elected to serve is another.

Florida's Governor Charlie Crist has ruffled the feathers of his fellow Republicans, but he supports President Obama's actions and, thankfully, is happily taking the money. God knows we need it down here.

Wouldn't it be nice if, for one month, our elected officials could all work together to try to pull this country out of the mess it's in, rather than continue their political posturing? Let's put a moratorium on politicking for a while.

Tomorrow night is Obama's first State of the Union address. Unfortunately, the state of our union is a disaster, thanks to the last administration who did nothing but spend our money on an unjust war and destroy our economy.

I've seen President Obama do more to effect change on our behalf and make things better than George Bush ever did in his 8 years of robbing us blind.

This morning, Obama announced his plans to cut the deficit in half by 2013. Pretty ambitious, but I love the fact that he's responsible enough to have that lofty goal, even while having to increase public spending by exorbitant amounts to stem the worst economic crisis in decades.