2009 Holiday Intro Now Up At BAA!

Happy Holidays to everyone! The new 2009 Big Apple Airchecks Holiday Greeting is now up at www.bigappleairchecks.com! Thanks to all my radio friends for their contributions and good wishes! May you all have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Back From Vacation Thank Goodness!

It's always nice to go on vacation, but also nice to come back! We went on a cruise out of Miami, on Royal Caribbean's Majesty Of The Seas. Here I am (left) on deck 12 looking out over the Miami skyline after boarding. Not a great picture, but you get the idea! It was a very nice ship, though smaller than the one we went on last year, Liberty Of The Seas. The room was so small that if two people we in it at the same time, one had to inhale while the other exhaled. (Figure that one out.) The ship stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, their own private island Coco Cay, and Key West, where we hadn't been in 12 years. Boy was it hot!

We also got to see some friends when we got back, and spent some quality time with our good buddy, Tim Byrd and his lovely wife Sally. My wife and kids never met them, so that was a real treat! They are now "Uncle Tim and Aunt Sally!" Thanks to them for "rescuing" us from a tough situation.

Getting back to work wasn't the easiest thing, but we endured and did well upon our return. It's nice to be home!

Life In General, Nothing To Do With Radio

There is so much commotion over President Obama wanting a National Health Care plan, that no one can see the forest through the trees. One of the easiest solutions is to open up the existing health plan that all government employees get to those that do not have, or can not get their own plans. I'm not saying give it to them for free, but at a reduced rate according to income and family size, similair to what New York State does with Child Health and Family Plus programs. The federal government plan already exists, why not just open up another catagory for non-government employees?

Cash For Clunkers, what a nice idea to stimulate auto sales. It's worked way beyond what anyone has thought, but in my opinion, it is still leaving older cars on the road. In my case, we have a 1997 Saturn SW wagon which does not qualify for the program because of its supposed good gas mileage. But come on, the car is 12 years old! How come no one thought of putting in a provision for cars 10 years or older that could be traded in for a certain amount, say $3000? I could probably sell the car for that amount, but then have to pay sales tax on it. With a trade in, there is no sales tax on that portion, though I don't know how the CFC program handles that.

Last, but certainly not least, is a bone I have to pick with Dell and their sales practices. I bought a new Studio 17 laptop in June, and spoke to two different sales people on Team Charger, and both told me that Windows 7 was coming out in 2010. How pissed was I when I found out it was coming out in October 2009, and NOT eligible for a free upgrade?!? Had I known that, I probably would have postponed the purchase until it was upgrade eligible. On top of that, try getting the same price from one person to another, it's impossible. Salesman 1 gave me a price of $200 for the full version of Office 2007, an $80 discount, but Salesman 2 wouldn't do that, and I had to pay $149 for the Student and Home edition. Then a couple of days later, Best Buy had it on sale for $99 and Dell wouldn't meet the price because the computer already shipped out! The chances of Dell getting my business again is slim to none.

For those of you who didn't already read it, check out my interview at www.grubstreet.ca. It tells you things about me and airchecks you never knew, and probably never cared about...lol...read it anyway!

Big Apple Airchecks Interview By Grubstreet Now Published!

Just Posted!!! Big Apple Airchecks is interviewed by Rich Knight for http://www.grubstreet.ca/ and believe me, it is a must read! Everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about me and Big Apple Airchecks is there! Thanks to all the friends who participated and shared their comments with Grubstreet, and to Dr. George Pollard (Grubstreet Publisher) for inviting me to be part of his interview series. Special thanks go to Dick Summer for suggesting me to George in the first place!

BAA Interviewed by www.grubstreet.ca...Coming Soon!

Thanks to our friend Dick Summer, Big Apple Airchecks was recently interviewed by online magazine site www.grubstreet.ca which will be published on July 9! Many topics are discussed, including the state of radio today.

Many good friends were also interviewed, and their comments will be included as well. Thanks to Grubstreet publisher Dr. George Pollard for the opportunity to share my passion of radio, airchecks and my site with his readers!

Stay tuned for more...video at 11!

Much Ado About Death

So this past week we had three big celebrity deaths; Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. It's been said that death comes in "3's" ,well they certainly did.

Of the three, I'll miss Farrah the most simply because she was so hot during my formative years growing up. Heck, what teenage boy didn't have her poster hanging in his room? Did Ed ever have a poster? And what guy would ever had a poster of Michael? Come on, give me a break!

To much is being made of MJ's death. His lifestyle is what killed him, along with prescription drugs. Does that sound familiar? Is should...Elvis Presley died the same way! Ironic considering that MJ was briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley who figured out what he was all about before she got sucked into his vortex of weirdness. What did he say??? Yes, I called MJ weird, and that's being kind. I refuse to tip toe with any comments just because he died.

As an entertainer, MJ was among the best. AMONG, not the best. I'll put Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other performers in that same category before I would ever call MJ the best. Let's face it...his last big commercial hit was the "Thriller" album, over 20 years ago! How long can you live on past accomplishments? Tell me what you did for me today, not what happened yesterday. That's the mantra in most business environments, isn't it?

As for MJ's lifestyle...he was accused of some horrific things that were never proven in a court of law. In the court of public opinion he would most likely be found guilty though. What about his excessive spending that left him heavily in debt? He was so in debt he had to sell half his interest in The Beatles musical catalog. I always wondered how he got that anyway...did he somehow sweet talk Paul McCartney into selling it to him? How about his "Neverland Ranch?" What happened to that? Was it foreclosed on, sold, rented, what? How come he was living in a rented home? Why was the 911 call made in such a calm manner, and his doctor who was there couldn't revive him?

Cynical? Damn right I'm cynical. With all the problems this country, and world is encountering right now, the death of a singer should not be headline/front page/1st story TV news for this long. His family should find out exactly what happened to him, and broadcast that news so it shouldn't happen to others. It's sad when an elderly parent outlives a child...there is nothing worse that can happen to family, except when the death could have been prevented, or foreseen.

There are three things we are assured of...birth, taxes and death. What we do in between those things determine who we are, and what we make of ourselves. No one likes taxes, but we detest death even more.

A BIG WOW!!!

WOW!!! That's all I can say tonight! I got to talk to one of radio's most well known personalities, who also made a name for himself on TV...the one and only Shadoe Stevens!

How did this happen you might ask? It all started a couple of months ago when I edited "Dick Summer-This Is Your Radio Life" and he told a friend of his, Dr. George Pollard in Canada about it. George runs a website, http://www.grubstreet.ca/ that is part on-line magazine, and part news and information. He interviewed Dick a while back, and Dick suggested he contact me. I told Dick it was ok for him to give George my contact info, and I heard from George this week. After that first email, I again visited his site, and read the interview with Dick, and Shadoe. Boy, was I impressed! I'm thinking the whole time, this guy wants to interview ME? We talked about the interview process which he said will take place over 2-3 weeks, and how he would work around my time. I asked him, why do you want to interview me, I'm just a regular guy with a website dedicated to airchecks? His answer was simply, "...you're not a regular guy. You have a passion and drive for radio and airchecks that is unequaled." Now, those might not be his EXACT words, but they are close enough. To be in the company of Dick Summer, Shadoe Stevens, AJ Benza and others is humbling to say the least, and I am honored to be included in this group.

I told George that I would love to talk to Shadoe, and he said to visit his site, http://www.shadoe.com/ which I did, but there was no phone number. So I emailed George, and he said to just write to him, which I did on Friday night. When I got home from work on Saturday, there was a reply from Shadoe thanking me for writing, and telling me about the aircheck collection he has that a friend of his has digitally converted. I wrote back offering him some other airchecks I had, and would he like them? I also sent my phone number with a couple of good times to call. When I got home from work on Sunday, there was an email from George, telling me he wrote to Shadoe, and to expect to hear back from him. Was I excited when the phone rang around 7 PM on Sunday, and caller ID said California! I immediately recognized THAT voice as he said, "...this must be Matt." Holy moly Batman...it was The Shadoe! I felt like a little kid meeting his hero for the first time, or the girlfriends parents for the first time...only this was The Shadoe...a living radio legend! WOW!

We talked for about 15 minutes...ok, mostly I talked, "gushing" about how big a fan I was, how he among others influenced why I wanted to be in radio and my wife and I liked "Dave's World." The whole time, I'm thinking that this guy must think I'm an idiot, not a 51 year old man with a hobby that has grown beyond a hobby, but become a passion...a mission to help people that have lost their jobs because of consolidation...to keep long time friends, and constantly make new ones. But Shadoe was gracious, telling me about his time on KROQ, and saying how much he enjoyed his time on "Dave's World."

When I got off the phone, my wife asked who I was talking to. When I told her, even she got excited, and was sorry she didn't answer the phone. Even my 13 year old daughter knew who he was from TV, and that amazed me.

So look for my interview in about 3-4 weeks on http://www.grubstreet.ca/ and don't forget to visit my friend Dick Summer at http://www.dicksummer.com/. He likes to think he's semi-retired, but everytime I write something about him, he manages to find something else to do. Here's an interesting question...can you call someone that you've never met or had a meal with a friend? I say yes...and I'm proud to call Dick Summer my friend even though he won't fly his plane to Long Island and visit me...lol...I hope he'll think about it and do it this summer. My best wished to your wonder wench Dick, the woman who helped make you the man you are. Thanks for your friendship, your kind words, and your suggestion to George. I believe that a whole new journey is about to begin for me, Big Apple Airchecks and other things to come.

I'm done...emotionally drained...physically tired...and smiling...