PMSimon.com

So they choked.

The football season's two weeks old and I don't even want to watch anymore. Stupid penalties, fumble-itis, and general fourth-quarter malaise, and they choked. At home. Against their chief rivals.

At least it looked good in HDTV.

And Sundays will be free now.

 Share

Dallas tomorrow.

Once again, I feel completely ill prepared. I've thrown stuff into luggage, but I'm not ready for a stretch away from home. Conventions and me, we don't get along. Nor do I much enjoy travel, especially when there's a convention involved, and in an unfamiliar place, to boot. When it's a place like Philly or D.C. or New York, at least I know the lay of the land. Dallas? Don't know. I've never left the airport. This'll be a first.

It'll be interesting to see what the convention's like this year. If anything, the mood of the radio industry's gotten even darker since last year. I'll be writing later this week about my attitude towards the changes in the business, but I'll shorthand it by saying that I think a lot of the misery is a self-fulfilling prophecy. That, and I don't think the rank and file of the business has any confidence in its leaders.

But that'll be a topic for another day. For now, I gotta finish packing. I am SO not ready for this trip.

See you in Texas.

 Share

Most of my recent flights have been relatively painless. Today's was just annoying. The minor indignities piled up:

1. The parking garage was full and we ended up with rooftop parking, also known as Where Your Car Gets A Thin Film Of Jet Fuel All Over It.

2. The flight was cramped and the flight attendants forgot to offer food, which was probably OK because we'd have had to pay for it anyway and it was just a crappy snack box. But still.

3. The luggage took over a half hour to get from the plane to the luggage carousel, and ours were the last bags to arrive.

4. We discovered that when they built Dallas-Ft. Worth International, they didn't bother to put many elevators in, which makes getting a cart full of luggage a liability.

5. The bus to the rental car shuttle dropped everyone off all the way at one end, far from our rental car company and far from the carts. Again, lots of bags, no help. Great.

6. The car rental guy relentlessly tried to upsell us to an SUV at significantly higher cost. I refused. The car we got had plenty of trunk space.

7. The hotel clerk feigned ignorance when I noted that my reservation- in writing!- asked for a king bed, non-smoking. He did eventually come through, but...

8. ...when I noted that the room was on a lower floor and therefore close to the atrium, and that I knew that these rooms get a lot of noise from the lobby, he said no, it'll be quiet, the rooms' been renovated and the events won't be late. I'm in here now and I can hear a lot of music and chatter from the lobby.

9. Parking is like $15. a night for SELF-PARKING. $15.? And the room key doesn't open and close the gates like it's supposed to, but they know it's a problem. They've KNOWN it's a problem. They haven't FIXED it, mind you, but they KNOW it's a problem.

10. The place is crawling with radio folks, mostly GM and sales types, most of whom I don't know. It's suits and frat boys and salespeople. You know how uncomfortable this makes me.

On the other hand, we went for dinner in the Uptown area and had great salads while watching the trolley roll by and the hipsters stroll by, and it was the first time I felt comfortable here. The drive from DFW to downtown through Irving makes the area look like a clone of the more unfortunate stretches of Florida- kinda like the run-down-strip-mall-and-strip-club parts of Dale Mabry in Tampa or the Trail in Orlando. Texas Stadium looks cheesy and run-down, too- must have seemed like the ultimate in the 70's, but now it makes Giants Stadium look modern. But when we were in Uptown and around Turtle Creek and on the fringes of downtown, Dallas seemed... cool. Restaurants, galleries, shops, people walking around- I can deal with that.

Radio conventions? That's a little harder to deal with. I start trying tomorrow.

 Share

It was a long day at the convention topped off by a lovely evening at Ameriquest Field to see the Rangers and Mariners from the eighth row behind home plate (thanks, Gavin), with dollar hot dogs to boot. But that means I got back late, so I gotta cut this short. More tomorrow- maybe even the long-delayed "The Letter" for this week. I know, you can hardly stand the suspense. Stay calm and duct-tape the windows closed- you'll get my Award-Winning Convention Coverage tomorrow.

Unless someone gives me tickets to something else.

 Share

I dashed this one off on my cell phone while zoning out at the convention, and it's generated a ton of positive reaction. Go figure. Here's this week's "The Letter From All Access News-Talk-Sports":

I'm sitting in a hotel meeting room in Dallas listening to a convention panel on... on... oh, geez, I don't know anymore. It's something about radio, that much I know. I know that because of the big banner behind the stage that has the word "RADIO" on it. I tend to lose consciousness at these things.

I gotta go now. I gotta be prepared in case something newsworthy happens. I know, I know, but I have to come up with SOME justification for being here.

 Share

What are YOU doing this Rosh Hashonah eve?

We're sitting four rows from bullshit. That's literal. We're at the Resistol Arena in fabulous Mesquite, Texas for tonight's Mesquite Championship Rodeo. Really.

Actually, it's pretty cool. The folks are friendly, the atmosphere is fun, and it's a special Celebrity Night, with Lynn I Never Promised You A Rose Garden Anderson, Barry Northern Ezposure Corbin, Will Clark, and a bunch of local TV newsholes. Well, shet mah mouf 'n' l'chaim, y'all.

Pictures upon my return. Plus more grousing about the convention, travel, and jury duty. Can't beat that for entertainment.

 Share

Apart from the flash flood and the smell of steer feces, today was another good day in Texas.

We headed out for Fort Worth this morning and while on a side stop in Las Colinas, the skies opened up- lightning, thunder, and torrential rain. Macarthur Boulevard was a river. But the whole thing lasted maybe a half-hour; by lunchtime, we were at Angelo's BBQ on White Settlement Road continuing our gastronomic tour of the Metroplex with another 'cue stop (yesterday's, Holy Smokes in Dallas, featured awesomely tender brisket and great sauce and sides). Then it was on to the stockyards for the obligatory tourist stop to get a whiff of where dinner comes from, not to mention to see the armadillo races.

A little of that schlock goes a long way, and the antidote was an afternoon at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Modern, where Rembrandt is across the street from Warhol and Ruscha and Lichtenstein. In Cowtown. Really. And then, the last big meal before returning home and resuming the diet, steaks at the Silver Fox in Fort Worth, more awesome meat.

Really, if only there wasn't a convention to get in the way, this was a great trip. Pictures coming. Time to go home now.

 Share