The News According to Hughes

Motivational Monday: The Power of Visualization

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:27:00 +0000

I am the first to admit that I am not a fan of the Olympics. I have nothing against them, mind you. It's just not something I have ever really followed. Even when I was younger and more into sports.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a lesson to be learned by the athletes who train hard and long to get where they are today. Athletes like American swimming sensation Michael Phelps who won 8 gold medals alone. What an amazing feet that is!

The lesson found here is the true power of visualization. Athletes will tell you, whether they are in the Olympics or not, that mental training goes hand in hand with the physical training. And they can both be equally difficult.

It isn't good enough to just train your body your whole life if your mind isn't coming along for the ride.

Ever see a baseball player having a night when they are clearly "on" and then the next day their performance is lackluster to say the least?

Chances are when the player was "on", he was in his zone--fully focused and mentally committed to the tasks at hand. He probably saw that ball going over the fence just seconds before actually sending it there.

And maybe the second day he was focusing on bills or his relationships or his kids or the weather or the election.

Everyone gets distracted. We all drift off course. We all slip in and out of our "zone" as I like to call it.

But it all comes back to visualization. Athletes in particular are very good at this. They see in their mind's eye hitting that ball...swimming those laps...catching the throw...swinging that club...thousands, if not millions, of times. Over and over and over and over again.

I remember the first time I took a failing timeslot and made it all the way to #1. I SAW my boss smiling at me and taking me to lunch. I SAW the balloons and the HEARD the applause in the studio.

And you know what? Talk about dejavu. It played out EXACTLY the way I had visualized it. I reached my goal in my imagination before I made it in the real world.

There are great stories along these lines in Jack Canfield's The Success Principles: How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be. He writes about American gold medalists who practiced their routines for YEARS and YEARS. And they eventually WON in the EXACT WAY they had daydreamed it in their imaginations.

But we can't forget why this is. THOUGHTS...ARE...THINGS. And most importantly, THOUGHTS...BECOME...THINGS.

That's why it's so important to choose wisely what we think about!

Try to remember that as you start another week. See your goal as already reached. Visualize it. Make it real in your mind and you stand a good chance of making it real in your world.

And even if you don't have an athletic bone in your body, you, too, can act like an Olympian!

Hurricane Hugo & The Radical Left

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:03:00 +0000

The story I saw today about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tightening his reins of power filled me with rage.

I wonder if the American Left will share in my rage.

After all, Lefties from Congressman Dennis Kucinich to Actor Sean Penn have shared their open adoration of this socialist dictator.

Chavez's latest plans for power include 26 laws he just ushered in giving him--you guessed it--more control of the country and its people.

So why would the Left in America continue to support such a leader, while at the same time constantly castigating President Bush about everything under the sun?

Many on the Left feel that Bush is stripping Americans of rights and sending us down the slippery slope of complete government control of our lives. And yet that IS what Hugo Chavez is ACTUALLY DOING in Venezuela!

One of my biggest intellectual gripes with many on the Left has been their compassion and sometimes outright support for communist regimes that have literally sent thousands and millions to their graves. How on earth could Bush be considered a dictator when they these leaders ACTUALLY WERE??

In 2006, war protester and activist Cindy Sheehan actually said she would prefer to have Chavez leading America than Bush!

HUH??

Did she REALLY mean that?? COULD she really mean that??

Apparently so.

Few had the guts to question Chavez when he referred to our President as "the devil" himself, reeking of sulfur and all.

So as Chavez continues on his quest to get everything from endless terms as President to further state control of the FOOD of his nation, the Left will battle Bush over some things he has done, and many things they FEAR he will do. Chavez just gave himself the power to shut down businesses that don't adhere to state price controls--with the option to send them to PRISON FOR 10 YEARS if they don't follow the orders!

Ask the protesters of Venezuela who they would rather have leading THEIR country.

Cindy Sheehan and Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte would no doubt not like their answer.

Columnist James Lileks recently wrote on the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "“Reading Solzhenitsyn makes it difficult to take seriously the people in this culture who insist that Dissent has been squelched. Brother, you have no idea.”

No, many on the Left HAVE NO IDEA. Or else they wouldn't describe Bush as the supreme dictator, while supporting true dictators like Castro and Chavez and others.

The real truth is Belafonte and Penn and Glover and Sheehan would have been sent to the Gulags long ago if they protested a real dictator the way they have protested Bush.

The real truth is that if they were Venezuelan citizens and spoke of Chavez in such cavalier and disrespectful ways their dissent would not even be an afterthought. It wouldn't be ALLOWED to happen.

Thank God even the Devil lets us speak our mind, huh?

Motivational Monday: Laura Day's The Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:51:00 +0000

My goal has been to read an average of a book a week this summer and so far I have been doing pretty well. As usual, the majority of my selections have been non-fiction and usually focus on motivational thinking and personal empowerment.

I just finished reading The Circle by bestselling author Laura Day.

It is amazing in its simplicity and lyrical in its presentation.

The red circle on the cover of the small but powerful hardback represents the place where we place our wishes.

It’s the starting point…the match that sets the blaze that becomes our dreams realized.

I will not ruin the experience by outlining the entire process. But I will take a moment to discuss the first place most people go wrong.

Most of us never make goals. Most of us never make wishes.

We stop making wishes, most of us, when the candles on our cake reaches the higher double digits.

Wishing is for kids. Wishing is for dreamers.

Both statements are true. But also true is that wishes are for ALL OF US!

We ALL need to wish for something, and most of us DO, just so subconsciously we don’t realize it.

Most of us have wishes of getting rich. Who wouldn’t? But most of us follow that wish with immediate thoughts of “Oh, that’s crazy!” or “Talk about a fairy tale!” or “Getting rich is for other people, not me” or “I can never be rich because (fill in the blank)”.

A wish is only useful if we have a sincere belief that we can attain it. If you wish to lose weight, you have to be able to believe you CAN lose weight.

More importantly, you have to be able to SEE the new you. See yourself in your mind exactly how you will look at your new, ideal weight. The way your clothes will fit you. The way you will feel when you look in the mirror and see the svelte, healthier you.

With any wish, your next step after making it is to act as if you already have it. This is another thing that we forget to do once we become adults. Children have no problem at all pretending they have all their Christmas presents, even if it’s JULY!

So make a wish and act as if you already have it. Feel it! Taste it! See it! Hold it in your hands! Take it all in!

This is, of course, just the first of many steps outlined in The Circle by Laura Day. Her book is an adventure, it truly is. It’s a book that can be enjoyed in just a couple of hours. But the tools it provides in helping make your wishes come true really will change your life.

If you believe.

End Highway Deaths: Ban Highways!

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Yes, the title of this blog IS ridiculous.

But the supposition is correct, is it not? If you really wanted to end ALL highway deaths, the only way you could realistically accomplish that is to get rid if highways. You COULD get rid of cars, I guess. But someone riding a bike or walking on the highway could still get hit and killed.

Why do I bring up this absurd scenario?

Because there is a story today that Scotland is boasting about cutting heart attacks by the HUNDREDS in the first year following its smoking ban.

In fact, heart attacks went down 17% in that first year!

What is the purpose of the report? To justify the ban, of course.

Same way they love doing studies showing that bars and restaurants don't really lose money following smoking bans.

The ends justify the means for these types of people.

Of course heart attacks will go down after criminalizing smoking.

Same way highway deaths will END if you close all highways.

Same way you will stop drunkeness if alcohol were to suddenly disappear.

Sometimes the little inconvenient thing called RIGHTS get in the way of such bans. A REAL inconvenient truth.

There Shouldn't Be a Minimum Wage

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:11:00 +0000

Did the title of my blog give you whiplash? Heart palpitations?

I said it. And I believe it. THERE SHOULDN'T BE A MINIMUM WAGE.

Certainly not one set by the government at ANY level.

The Federal minimum wage went up 70 cents to $6.55 an hour yesterday. That would be the second of three increases that went into effect after legislation was passed last year.

Why am I so cruel to the worker making a few bucks an hour? I am not cruel. I am logical. I am a free market champion.

I believe that the only two people who should be involved in payment decisions ought to be the employee and the employer. PERIOD.

If I have a job and it pays $4.00 an hour and you really WANT it, you should be able to take it. And I should be able to hire you. Simple, isn't it?

Contrary to the scare tactics of many, this will not return us to the days of slavery and indentured servitude. Nothing of the sort.

It would simply mean that an employer would pay a worker what they were worth for the job AT HAND, not what the government decided they were worth.

For instance, let's say I own an ice cream shop. I need to hire someone to dip my cones in chocolate. Is that really $6.55 an hour worth of labor?? OF COURSE NOT. I'd say it's worth maybe $3.50 an hour TOPS.

The point is, no one is being forced to dip those cones for me. Chances are it will be enticing for the crowd the minimum wage was INTENDED FOR in the first place--entry level workers and students.

Why should some faceless bureaucrat decide what MY employees are going to earn an hour??

I hate it when I hear people moan, "I can't raise a family of 4 on the minimum wage!"

Of course you CAN'T! You aren't SUPPOSED to! No one ever intended you to raise a family of ANY number on the minimum wage!

The intention was that you would START with an entry level job that paid entry level wages and that you would better yourself and your skill and circumstance and MOVE UP.

This whole wage nonsense is artificially trying to move people up.

So why not be more realistic than $6.55 an hour (some states are actually higher than the Federal benchmark)...you still can't raise a family very well making that kind of money. So why not just get all these workers out of their misery and make the minimum wage $18 an hour? Wouldn't THAT make more sense?

Instead, politicians throw bones at potential or future supporters by giving them the illusion that they have just improved their lives.

Politicians ought to have the guts to ask what I would ask--why are you 45 years old and making less than $7.00 an hour????

Ouch. That was rough. But it was honest. Maybe brutally so. But it's the only truthful question to ask.

Next thing you know our leaders (and probably a sizable number of voters) will propose and support a MAXIMUM WAGE.

Think about it. Tiger Woods shouldn't make so much money on 18 holes or for wearing a cap with a logo on it. Those dirty, rotten CEOs shouldn't be bailing with the golden parachutes they are given. Movie stars shouldn't make millions for a few months work playing "pretend" toentertain us.

So cap the MAXIMUM someone can make! Work hard, study hard, apply yourself to your darnest--and STILL only be able to make a certain dollar amount an hour! $200,000 should be all you can ever hope to make in a year. How's THAT for killing aspirations and dreams.

Hey, it's no more un-American than the minimum wage.

You just probably never thought of it that way.

Motivational Monday: The Book That Inspired "The Secret"

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:49:00 +0000

I just finished reading a life changing book written nearly 100 years ago. It has impacted millions of readers through the years, including Rhonda Byrne who is best known as the woman who brought us the film and book called "The Secret"--a bestseller around the world.

The book is THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH: FINANCIAL SUCCESS THROUGH CREATIVE THOUGHT by Wallace D. Wattles. It was written in 1910 but it is as timely as ever today in our current state of doom and gloom regarding the economy and our personal state of wealth.

Every politician should read it. Every business leader. Every teacher. Every student. Every American. I paid $6.95 for it in a beautiful Barnes & Noble edition but its value is many times that.

The lessons taught are straight forward and simple for all to understand. The principles are timeless and practical and they WILL work if you apply them and believe they will work.

The basic premise is that your thoughts are things...that they bring things into your life, both good and bad. Your mind is a magnet and it will attract whatever it is you are dwelling on.

Wattles believed, and correctly so, that you cannot dwell and put your focus on poverty and expect to reach prosperous results. You cannot dwell and put your focus on illness and expect to reach healthy results.

Your thoughts and your feelings are always a match. Try driving to work tomorrow thinking awful, earth shattering thoughts of pessimism and see how you feel. I guarantee they will not make you feel good.

Conversely, I can guarantee it will be hard if not impossible for you to feel badly if you are singing your favorite song and thinking wonderful thoughts about your future.

The book is less than 100 pages long and can change your life if you follow its principles and teachings. Go out and buy this book! You owe it to yourself.

Thoughts...are...things. And thoughts...become...things.

So make it your aim to focus less on the bills that have flooded your mailbox and more on the endless supply of abundance that is always at your feet.

It has always been at your feet. You just were too worried dwelling on lack to notice.

That is all going to change. Starting today!

The Kids Aren't OK

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:24:00 +0000

We already know that many American schools have banned childhood staples such as tag and dodgeball over the clear and present danger such games pose to children. After all, we are talking about physical AND self esteem injuries should junior take one in the face or always be "it".

Now a story from Britain leads us further down the road of sterilizing everything that was wonderful about being a kid.

Teachers at a primary school dropped plans for a traditional potato sack race over fears that...gasp...the kids might get hurt.

Three-legged races were also dumped, not out of fear of offending four-legged children, but out of fear that...Heavens to Murgatroyd...a little one might trip and fall and skin a knee. OH NO!

A local educational leader explained. "We had to assess which of the activities were liable to cause a risk."

How about waking up in the morning? Opening the front door? Crossing the street. Or even worse--DRIVING to the event!

My kids slip and fall ALL DAY LONG and it's never been as a result of hopping on one foot or sprinting in a potato sack.

KIDS SLIP AND FALL!

We are engineering a generation of kids who don't ever fall. They will turn into adults who have never fallen.

And one day when they do, they will come unhinged.

Stop butchering childhood! Let kids be kids!

Let the potato sack races live on!

In Loving Memory of My Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:45:00 +0000

My mother died last Tuesday morning.

Even as I write those words, none of it seems real. It's fiction. It must have happened in a horrible nightmare or to someone else. My mother is still alive and will walk down the stairs of our home any minute now and hug and kiss and love her grandchildren.

She died in intensive care after days of dialysis and heavy life support. She was, according to the doctors and nurses, in a coma the last few days of her life and she didn't suffer, which is one of the few reassurances you can give someone as they watch a loved one die before their very eyes. Another reassurance is that they can still hear the words we whisper into their ears, even if they outwardly don't seem to be registering them.

My mother came to visit us on a Thursday. She came down with flu-like symptoms the next day. And by Saturday morning she was being shuttled by ambulance to intensive care. The following day she was on dialysis as her kidneys had shut down. Sunday night was rough and a tight rope. Monday night showed promise and a glimmer of hope. We all really started believing she was going to pull out of this sudden calamity.

But Tuesday morning at 8am my precious mother left this world. My father and I were there to hold her hand and stroke her forehead and kiss her cheeks. I have never seen my father more broken and I have never cried as intensely for anyone or anything as I did watching my mother having the monitors turned off and her vitals fading forever.

She died with my 8-month-old baby girl's security blanket (a sweet tiger that she would never generally part with) on her chest. She loved all her grandkids, but the joy she experienced with that baby girl was enough to take your breath away.

Our lives were, needless to say, sent into a spiral of confusion, denial, and anger.

How on earth could this happen?? She was FINE one day and sick the next. Then she was taken from us.

The most unnerving part, I think, is when the best medical crews and doctors scratch their own heads and offer little in terms of definite answers. Her body was attacked and ultimately destroyed by a catastrophic infection. It happens, they said. And sometimes there is nothing that our advanced medical technologies can do to stop the wheels from turning down their inevitable end.

What I found the most remarkable about those days and final moments in the hospital was the lack of the sense of urgency and chaos that we have come to know from Hollywood's version of the inside of a hospital.

Even as my beloved mother began to slip away, the doctors and crew spoke calmly and walked about her bed with soft steps.

How could you be so CALM, I remember screaming inside my head as I felt the tears and the horror and the angst coming over me. MY MOTHER IS DYING...HOW CAN YOU WALK SO LIGHTLY??

Maybe it was her age (77) or the fact that they knew ultimately they had done everything they could for her. Maybe they knew it was simply but sadly her time to go.

My mother was a great woman and I wish that you could have known her. Those of you who did know how enriched your lives were just by virtue of knowing her.

She was the most selfless person I ever knew. Nothing was about her. She was always more concerned with the comfort and happiness of others before her own. Such a person is rare, especially in today's world. In this GIMME, GIMME, GIMME world, it's getting harder and harder to find someone who will make sure you are being treated well.

She leaves behind my father, to whom she was married for almost 48 years, myself (her only son), an adoring daughter-in-law, and 6 grandchildren (there was no such thing as STEP grandchildren to her...she loved them all the same and her obituary made no distinction between them...that was how deep her love was), not to mention countless others who will miss her dearly.

I am currently being comforted by my faith and by the words of scholars and experts who continue to remind us that our loved ones never really GO somewhere far away. They are with us even now. We may not be able to hear them or see them or touch them. They are our gentle and unseen companions that never leave our sides as we continue to take our steps through this life.

Forever hoping that we never lose sight of the fact that they are never more than a whisper or a thought or a prayer away.

We bury my mother on Wednesday in a ceremony ultimately designed for the living, not the deceased. We will all look down at the grave as if she is IN it. But she is not. Her earthly body perhaps, yes. But the essence and beauty that was my mother still IS my mother and always will be.

We are better served looking next to us than below us at the ground.

I love you, my sweet mother. You were the most amazing woman I ever knew. I wish I could have had you for more time than I did, but I thank God for the years I was fortunate enough to have. You will always be with me.

Fiery California

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:02:00 +0000

I just tried to take some pictures of the blood red sun outside my kitchen window and none of the them are capturing the eeriness of the sight.

The sky is filled with haze, and other than the brownish tinge to it, it reminds me of the foggy days growing up in San Francisco.

Only the skies over the Sacramento area are generally bright blue. It looks like winter outside.

And it smells like a thousand ash trays were thrown into the BBQ and cooked right in front of your captive nostrils.

What experts are calling "unprecedented" lightning storms are the culprits in the more than 800 fires burning throughout the Golden State, all but a couple in the northern part of the state. Imagine--more than 5,000 lightning strikes!

The smell of the smoke on your clothes and in your car and house are minor inconveniences compared to the terrible (dangerous in some parts) toll they can take on your breathing. In some areas, people with weakened immunity and breathing conditions are advised to stay inside if possible.

Two of the biggest fires are within two hours of us but you wouldn't know it looking out the window. I can't imagine being at ground zero at any of these fires if it looks like this here.

Thousands of acres continue to burn and firefighters have been injured.

It's all an awesome and humbling and frightening reminder of the power of nature and how little we become when viewed against its immense backdrop.

Motivational Monday: S'mores Galore In Spite of Gas Prices!

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:26:00 +0000

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Although taking a week off in radio is the equivalent of 2 months in most other occupations. It seems like I have been gone longer.

Maybe that's because we traded in the 4 bathrooms at home for a bathroom down the flashlight lit path of a campsite.

Now all you avid campers don't need to get too excited. I didn't camp in a tent or anything. I still hold an aversion to the thought of sleeping on rocks and having little critters sneaking a peak through or under some pretty thin looking material.

Yes, I still like the idea of giving a bear or a raccoon a few extra layers of wood to have to tear through to get to me.

Anyway, we packed up the kids, 2 cars, a million dollars worth of fuel, and enough Capri Suns to quench the thirst of a thousand. And we headed for the great outdoors. 5 days in a two room cabin less than a mile from the beautiful California coast (http://koa.com/where/ca/05113/).

In the first 10 minutes we were there, we almost started another California wildfire. My wife hooked up the propane tank incorrectly and when she went to light it...ZOINKS!!

I wish I hadn't been panicking so much because it would have been cool to have run and grabbed my camera for pictures. The flames were two feet high on the picnic table and the look on my face was worth the price of admission.

After a few moments of smashing the table with a box, the flames were out and the rest of the trip was all down hill from there.

We didn't exactly rough it THAT much. My wife and kids brought their Nintendo DS's and we DID order pizza one night. HAHAHA. Ordering pizza when you go camping! Now that's MY kind of camping!! Not being too far for the pizza guy to come find you in the woods!

That might actually be my prerequisite from now on. That we have to be within delivery distance of a pizza place!

Even though we packed all the food away at night, our neighbors didn't and the raccoons and skunks paid us nightly visits. I tried to scare three skunks away and they looked at me like, "Yeah. Right. We've tipped over GARBAGE CANS bigger than you, Bud."

Our adventures ranged from swimming in the pool to spending a day at the world renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, right on John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Check them out at http://www.mbayaq.org/. Where else can you touch a Bat Ray and pass by historical fish canning factories made famous by one of America's best authors all in the same hour?

We also visited one of the quirkiest places in America...the Mystery Spot in the redwood forests outside Santa Cruz (http://www.mysteryspot.com/). This place is WILD. Everything you know about the laws of gravity and physics will come into doubt. I saw things with my own eyes that STILL make my head hurt.

Our final big excursion was any train lover's heaven...the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, California (http://www.roaringcamp.com/). We rode a narrow gauge steam train through thousands of ancient redwoods. It was amazing to think that such a memorable outing could be had in less than 90 minutes.

Nights ranged from warm to freezing cold and always ended with a roaring fire and plenty of s'mores and fun times.

Why is all this a Motivational Monday blog topic? Because it would have really been easy to cancel the whole vacation and blame the mind boggling price of gas for putting a damper on our plans.

But we compromised is all. Instead of a vacation further away and perhaps involving hotels and eating out a lot, we rented a rustic cabin less than 4 hours away from home and kept the amenities to a minimum.

We WERE able to swing it. We just had to make the proper CHOICES to make it happen.

Cut here and there, make a few sacrifices, and you won't have to cancel that family vacation after all. Defy the headlines and the doom and gloom! Go for it!!

Oh and here is a funny close to today's blog. Thursday night, I accidentally left out a hot dog grill basket on top of the campsite's BBQ pit. The next morning it was gone.

I mean ALL gone. Not just the hot dogs, but the GRILL BASKET, too.

It makes me smile to think somewhere there's a raccoon nest stacked to the ceiling with the wares of careless campers.

Maybe they can sell all the camping gear and buy enough gas to leave the woods and visit the city.

I will leave you with Spencer's Camping Tips:

1) Always have at least a wood wall separating you and the wildlife. Tents are for people with death wishes.

2) Screw the propane tank on correctly or you could end up looking like Wile E. Coyote after a bad run in with the Road Runner.

3) There is no such thing as too many showers when you are in a cabin with 6 kids.

4) It's not smart to yell at a skunk when its tail is up to the sky.

5) Make sure everybody hears you when you say "Last call for the bathroom!"

6) Fun is right in front of you, if you aren't afraid to look.

Does Anyone Read Manuals Anymore?

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:19:00 +0000

I worked retail for several years and although I didn't work directly in the Returns Department, I know from experience the amount of products that come back because they don't work.

Or should I say, because they ALLEGEDLY don't work?

An article I read this week from Engadget.com claims that gizmos and gadgets aren't as messed up and poorly made as we might think.

According to a study done by Accenture, a whopping 95% of gadgets work despite what customers claim!

That reminds me of the customer service lore about the technician telling the computer owner to close Windows only to have the person put the phone down and close every window in the house. Even if that story is exaggerated, it may hold more truth than we'd like to admit.

People just don't read manuals anymore. We're too smart for those, right? We KNOW how that DVD player or remote controlled airplane works. The manual is for OTHER people. The dumb ones, right?

Next time that toaster doesn't work or your cell phone insists on alerting you to new texts with "Funky Town", try flipping through the manual and seeing what's up.

Chances are it's user error. And you, I am afraid, are the user. I am, too. We ALL are!

And remember this sobering statistic. Out of the nearly $14 billion worth of returned products last year, only 5% were truly broken.

And now if you'll excuse me. The microwave is blinking 12:00 and I need to figure out if that has anything to do with the fact that my popcorn comes out tasting like tri-tip. I think the manual is in the drawer next to my broken watch.

Motivational Monday: Let Nothing Stop You!

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:05:00 +0000

Monday is the hardest day of the week for many people. But only because so many people unfortunately are clocking into jobs that they simply tolerate or downright despise.

We all need something to pump us up, a morale booster that will set us off on the right course for the days ahead.

And that is what I hope the story of Nick Santonastasso will do for you.

Nick is 12-years-old.

But unlike us, he was born with a rare disorder that affects only 11 other people on earth.

So Nick was born with no legs and only one arm with a single finger attached at the end of it.

His parents could have fallen into a depression as many parents would have under such stark adversity.

But they didn't. They decided they would not treat their son differently. And that decision has paid off beautifully all these years later.

Nick, himself, could have fallen into a deep depression, too. Imagine facing life as difficult as it can be...and without three of your limbs.

Most of us would be tempted to curse God and the universe and collapse deep within ourselves.

But Nick was raised that "anything's possible" and he has lived that mindset. He has played football and baseball. He can do a headstand on a skateboard. He can type on a computer and even play the drums.

And he even helps in the kitchen!

How many of YOUR kids help in the kitchen?? How many of US wake up with the love for life that Nick does??

The answer is: not enough, unfortunately.

Our excuses? I'm too poor. Too overweight. I'm not pretty enough. Smart enough. That stuff happens for OTHER people, but never for me. I'll take the chance later...just not today.

Unlike us, Nick has REAL excuses if he wanted to use them. Hmmm. I can't play baseball because I HAVE NO LEGS AND ONLY ONE ARM AND ONE FINGER!!

Shouldn't we feel a little silly now when we come up with our endless excuses each day? Hasn't Nick taught us that we should get off our unmotivated behinds and DO SOMETHING!! Take action!! And do it NOW!!

Ever see severely handicapped people with GIANT smiles? Ever stop and wonder sometimes how it is that someone facing such enormous adversity could find the will to be HAPPY??

Shame on us. They are happier than we are, really, even as we run around with two healthy legs. Why? Because they believe in themselves ultimately more than we believe in ourselves. They are at peace with life, something most of us only strive for but rarely achieve on any given day.

Nick recently entered an art contest for which he drew a large tree. "The roots of a family are..." were written above the tree. And below the tree?

"Love."

The one simple word that makes everything possible. Love of family. Love of life. Love in the belief that anything's possible.

Because as young Nick has proven to all of us, it really is true.

Next time the kids or your spouse of a friend complain about something, share with them the story of Nick Santonstasso. They should stop the complaining very, very quickly.

Life is what you make of it. So make it EXTRAORDINARY!

Reflections on Harvey Korman, 1927-2008

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:18:00 +0000

In this age of mediocrity, comedians seem a dime a dozen. And have you noticed most of them fail at even remotely amusing us? Anyone can call themselves a comedian these days.

And now we have lost a true comedic genius. One of my favorite comedians has left us. Harvey Korman died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 81.

My biggest fear is that most people under 40 might not even recognize the name. That is sad.
Usually a reference to his hysterical role in the Mel Brooks classic "Blazzing Saddles" brings out the "Oh YESSS!! THAT was Harvey Korman??"

Of course, he is probably remembered for his classic role alongside Tim Conway on "The Carol Burnett Show".

He and Tim Conway toured the nation together and performed their side splitting antics and comedic genius well into their 70s.

I had the pleasure of meeting both of them a few years back at a show in Sacramento.

I begged and begged to be let backstage to meet my comedic mentors. The P.R. Department kept telling me my chances were 50-50.

The day of the show I STILL had not heard back from anyone, telling me one way or the other what they had decided.

Would I meet two of my favorite comedians in the world?

I walked up to the stage door and presented myself humbly. They remembered my name and my efforts to meet these gentlemen had impressed them it turns out.

They stepped away to ask them how they felt about a visitor and to my absolute joy, they agreed to a meet and greet.

And there they were. Two comedic giants standing before me. Two men I had grown up watching on television and in the movies. Two men who had shaped my comedic heart and soul forever and in ways they could never understand were shaking my trembling but firm hand and talking to me!

By the way, it was a classic performance and I am so glad I made the time to go see them. I would have regretted it if I hadn't.

As for all the talk about "Blazzing Saddles" being his funniest film, I disagree. Of all the Mel Brooks movies he stared in, I think his performance as the corrupt psychiatrist in "High Anxiety" was his best and most underrated role. Watch it and get ready to laugh till you hurt.

Thank you, Harvey Korman, for making me laugh. For lightening my load. For teaching me how true comedy is crafted and perfected.

And thank you, most of all, for giving me the chance to look you in the eye and thank you myself for all those years of laughter and fun.

You will be missed.

Shades of Grey

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:02:00 +0000

Aliens are real.

Just ask Jeff Peckman of Colorado.

He claims to have videotaped a "Grey" alien in a video that will be unveiled to officials tomorrow. The rest of us will have to wait for a while.

I believe in extraterrestrial life. We can't be the only life in this vast universe. But does it help Peckman's credibility that he is pushing for a Denver ballot initiative that would create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission??

Doesn't that sound a little NUTTY??

But if he is convinced his discovery is real, then it would stand to reason that he believes the government should have a department in place to deal with alien life, right?

By the way, an instructor at the Colorado Film School claims the video is real. Well, of course, the VIDEO is real. But nowadays it is so easy to create or manipulate reality any way that you choose to.

Look at movies like E.T. and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Those were YEARS ago and the creatures look pretty darned real to me. I have seen people with Photoshop and video editing skills create virtual miracles that would have stumped me.

So does this video really show a genuine space alien? Who knows. That will be up to the experts to decide.

In the meantime, I want to believe.

I really do.

And now if you'll excuse me. I need to beam back up to the mothership and finish my show prep.

One Word Not To Utter In San Francisco: Plastics

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:45:00 +0000

San Francisco residents are now safe from the evils of plastic grocery bags.

Or better put, Mother Earth is now safe from these dastardly demons.

Plastic bags already bowed and exited from large supermarkes when the San Francisco ban went into effect six months ago.

But now big drugstores like Rite Aid and Walgreens will be prevented from offering them. Can you imagine this??

Yes, this is one of those "Only in San Francisco" topics, although the trend has started to catch on elsewhere. Soon it will be across the country before we know it.

San Francisco is the city of my birth. I spent the first 24 years of my life there. And it makes me mad that the city chose to rid itself of plastic bags before ridding itself of dirty needles in the city parks. Before getting the drug addicts and winos off the streets. Before controlling graffiti and crime.

Recently while spending the night in our apartment in the City, we heard what sounded like AK-47s going off. But never mind that.

At least the City has gotten rid of a much more dangerous culprit. Plastic bags! Hip, hip, hooray!

Maybe they can ban the Board of Stupervisors next.

Post script: Know what I did last night? I did some MAJOR grocery shopping in a city just outside of San Francisco's Stupidity Sphere and bagged my groceries in DOUBLE LAYERED plastic bags. Even for groceries that weren't all that heavy.

I hope my Mother Earth can forgive me someday.

A Fear Confronted

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Anyone who has listened to my show even casually knows I have a fear of swimming.

Probably because I never learned HOW to. It's a long and typical story but my fears were born in childhood and proved hard to shake nearly 40 years later.

That is, until yesterday.

It was 100 degrees plus over the weekend and the kids were having a field day in the pool.

My five-year-old learned to swim yesterday and I marveled at how fast he picked it up. He was literally fearless as he went all the way across to the deep end, with Mommy close by just in case.

After everyone had pretty much wrapped up the evening and gone inside, I decided to face my fears head on. I started by dipping my head under the water. Then I did it without plugging my nose.

Then I realized, before I even knew it, I was swimming.

SWIMMING.

Then I went from one end of the shallow end to the other. Back and forth. I was out there for more than an hour. I didn't want to come in.

I am already looking forward to going into the pool later and learning some more.

I did something that scared me this weekend. And I overcame a huge, life long fear.

And it felt, and still feels, awesome.

Do something today that scares you. And it will make you feel stronger than you ever thought possible.

My Masculinity At Stake AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:03:00 +0000

It always happens this way.

Just as my masculinity recovers itself, there is something that happens to threaten it once more.

Now there is a list of the Top 10 Unmanliest Drinks In The World.

Great.

And you guessed it, yours truly has had more than a few on the list from time to time.

What's wrong with a wine spritzer?? It can get to be 112 in the summer where I live. Let me cool down with a wine spritzer if I want to!

Cranberry juice with vodka? Forget about it.

And if the women from "Sex In The City" drink Cosmos, that means us men should leave them alone. But they are SO GOOD! Why is it that I feel I have to steal a taste from my Better Half when no one is looking?

I can't help it. I love drinks that come with plastic swords and paper umbrellas. They are fruity and refreshing and yummy.

Oh, by the way. The survey also includes ANYTHING with Diet Coke in it. And even WATER.

So no man is safe.

Thank God no one saw me be the only male at a golf tournament fundraiser this week who was drinking Bud Light Lime. I kept the bottle carefully hidden at just the right angle. While the other men indulged in testostore favorites, I was really digging that beer. Fruity. Refreshing. Yummy.

And now if you'll excuse me, I think I will make myself a virgin Apple-tini as I continue with my show prep.

When Things Happen Out of the Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:42:00 +0000

I got an e-mail this morning from an old colleague and friend. We haven't been in touch in literally years. We lost track of each other long ago and all of a sudden there was an e-mail from him.

But WAS it all of a sudden?

As anyone who has listened to my show in the last year or so knows, I am a recent student of the Law of Attraction. Some people call it "The Secret" but it really shouldn't be that big of a secret at all. It's the basic law of the universe. Like attracts like.

And you become what you think about most of the time.

You can even ask my producers if this isn't true--not one month ago I asked them to help me track down the above mentioned colleague from my past. At best, we were only able to pin him down to the last place he worked and the leads I followed up on proved a waste of time.

Then today it all changed. HE contacted ME.

Coincidence? I can't prove it one way or the other. All I can say is I once would have believed that. But not anymore.

It happens way too often to be a mere coincidence.

Hasn't that ever happened to you? Try it. Think of an old friend or family member you haven't talked to in a long time. Focus on them. Focus on getting connected again with them.

Then sit back and be shocked. Somewhere, sometime, and somehow, you will be reconnected with that person.

They will call you out of the blue. Or e-mail, as was the case for me this morning. Maybe someone will bring up their name in conversation. Maybe someone you don't even KNOW will be an associate or friend of that person and put you in touch with them.

Some call it 6 degrees of separation. Call it what you want. The universe doesn't make mistakes when it comes to stuff like this, I am now sure of it.

Haven't you ever hummed or whistled a tune and then found it UNAVOIDABLE all day long on the radio? It just keeps PLAYING over and over again.

That, too, I once attributed to mere chance. But I think there is more to it than that.

We emit, like all energy sources, endless vibrations. And sometimes we are vibrating out of sync with what we want. Those are the days when NOTHING goes right. NOTHING seems to fit. We are square pegs trying to fit in round holes on days like that.

Then there are days when EVERYTHING falls into place. When we are truly happy with ourselves and our place. Those are the days without bills in the mailbox and a parking space just for you everywhere you go. The kids don't fight and the traffic is light.

That's the difference, I believe, between sending out vibrations that are contrary to the hum of the day and those that are in TUNE with the hum of the day.

So start humming that song and thinking of that friend.

And maybe, just maybe, you will be amazed by these small but miraculous wonders that make life the great adventure that it is.

America, I'm Going Home

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:55:00 +0000

I never used to watch AMERICAN IDOL. I passed on it the first few seasons. I ended up enjoying the music of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (call me a metrosexual, if you INSIST), without ever having watched them from the auditions to their final, glorious moments.

But all that changed a couple of seasons ago. My Better Half finally got me to sit down and watch it. And I LOVED it. Not a love on the level of a platter of barely pan seared fresh ahi tuna, but it was a love nonetheless.

I became hooked and got upset when I missed an episode.

But now, America, I am...going home. I have officially retired from the rest of this season of the show.

Why?

Because AMERICAN IDOL fans at home have voted to keep the four most annoying and least talented (in my opinion, of course) singers they could possibly have kept.

This week saw the expulsion of my Better Half's favorite and mine, Brooke White.

She was the only elegant one of the bunch. The only one whose voice really touched us, moved us...entertained us. We were both sure she would go all the way.

But this week, she went home. And so have I.

I cannot stand the insane cuteness that people see in David "I finally stopped licking my lips three episodes ago" Archuleta, the kid who looks 7-years-old. It's hard to Google images of actor Robert Blake when he was a child star in the Bogart classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", but the two are DEAD RINGERS for each other.

Jason Castro--Mr. Dreadlocks--reminded me too much, no offense, of the street urchins who plagued me for money on the street corners of Berkeley during my sentence there. Some of them played a guitar, others just held their hand out for money. But he reminds me of every single one of them. Plus every song he sang sounded EXACTLY the same to me. But the chicks dug him, for whatever reason, and the voters at home as well.

Syesha Mercado was tremendously overrated from day one, in my opinion. I never found her exceptionally talented, and never dreamed she would make the top 20, let alone the final 4.

And then there is, arguably, THE most annoying IDOL contestant EVER...David "I'm trying to look like Axle Rose from Guns N' Roses" Cook. WOW. I thought I could be annoying sometimes. How about ALL the time?? From his arrogant productions to his cliched voice, David Cook reminded me of all the junk you hear on the radio. It all sounds the same after a while.

So...the final four contestants remind me of how many people must feel about the Presidential candidates. These are your choices...you don't really like any of them...but you have to support SOMEBODY, right?

Nah. You, too America, can decide to go...home.

And with finalists like this, home might not be such a bad place to be. Maybe next time will be better.

Voter ID Is a Great Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:52:00 +0000

May I see your ID, please?

We all hear this all day long, don't we?

At the bank. At the hospital. At the car rental agency. When opening up any sort of account.

Even at the video store.

But one place where showing your picture ID has been missing in far too many places for far too long has been the voting booth!

It has always seemed strange to me, but also downright un-American, that you could be able to cast a VOTE and not have to prove you are the person the polling place thinks you are!

I have NEVER been asked to show my ID before voting. NEVER. That goes from local school board elections all the way up to Presidential races. NEVER.

Well, the practice of requiring ID will hopefully become far more common after a reasonable Supreme Court ruling this week that upheld Indiana's voter identification law.

It was refreshing to see one of the more more liberal of the Justices, John Paul Stevens, wrote the opinion of the majority in the 6-3 decision.

I say refreshing because it tends to be leftists in America who are so passionately fighting AGAINST such requirements!

They claim, falsely, that whole segments of our society--the poor, minorities, and the disabled--are being DISENFRANCHISED from voting!

What NONSENSE! NO ONE in this country is being disenfranchised. That is a fighting word that unfortunately most people cannot define accurately.

To disenfranchise someone is to take away their right to vote. NO ONE is having this done to them, except for some people in prison who LOST their right to vote through their own actions.

But no poor person, minority, or diabled person is being kept from voting because they would have to show proper ID.

Can you imagine how insulting such an insinuation is on the FACE of it?? These groups cannot afford or acquire a simple PHOTO ID??

Loudmouth liberals and partisan democrats insist it is a GOP plot to keep people from voting.

The reality is that these politicians and spokespeople ought to give the groups they represent more credit than they do.

Voting is a right that people fought for over a long period of time. Many in the world don't even have the right. They have no say.

We DO.

And isn't that worth having to show a simple ID card for?

If we are willing to show it to rent a silly movie, we should be honored to have to show it to cast a vote in the greatest nation that has ever been.

Watch Me Pull an 8-Foot Straw Out of My Hat!

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:13:00 +0000

I finally decided to do it. I jumped back into the wonderful world of magic.

It had been a very long hiatus. My oldest daughter (who is going to be 10 this year) was barely a toddler when I last had frequented my local magic shop.

Last night I performed some new tricks I recently purchased and the look on my children's faces told me I had made the right decision.

Kids need magic. Heck, adults need it, too.

In this fast paced world of ours, there seems to be fewer and fewer things that truly AMAZE us. Are you REALLY amazed by much out there? Mystified??

With all the technical gizmos and video games and modern day amusements that my kids have, I don't remember seeing their jaws drop quite as much as when I pulled an 8-foot beverage straw out of a fast food bag last night.

Now THAT'S magic.

And the beauty of magic performed correctly is that your mind concludes it has just witnessed something that is NOT POSSIBLE.

There is NO way that card could have appeared inside the locked box. There is NO way that the coin could have jumped from spectator to spectator. There is NO way that a woman just got sawed in half and put back together.

And there is CERTAINLY NO WAY that a radio talk show host pulled the biggest straw ever out of an 8 inch deep bag.

Yes. There IS a way.

With magic, there always is.

When Driving Goes to the Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:12:00 +0000

One of the most idiotic sights I will ever see in my life is a person driving with a dog on their lap.

What is the purpose of this??

One thing is to take your pal on outings to the beach or the store, but why must the beast ride ON YOUR LAP??

My family and I nearly got into an accident over the weekend because of a moron who felt it necessary to let his DOG drive with him! Not alongside him. Not in the back seat. Not in the wayback.

ON HIS LAP.

How is this allowed?

Well, in California, it might not be allowed for much longer.

Can you believe we need legislation to stop such irresponsible, dangerous, and foolish behavior?

Assembly Bill 2233 would make it illegal to carry a live animal on your lap while behind the wheel. Considering it's California, they ought to be more clear because people might try to carry a "dead" animal on their lap while behind the wheel.

Too bad the infraction would only warrant a base fine of $35. That's a flea on a Doberman. We need it to be more like $2,000 if you ask me.

There is no reason you need an animal on your lap while driving a car. It's dangerous AND ridiculous.

And if the bill becomes law--which I pray that it will--and Fido protests, tell 'em you are working hard on legislation that will allow YOU to sit on HIS lap while HE is driving the car.

That way, neither one of you will suffer from separation anxiety.

Why Sex Offenders Need To Be Locked Up

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:35:00 +0000

What is the best way to keep a repeat offender from breaking the law?

Make it so they can't break the law anymore!

How? By locking them up. For a long time. Maybe forever. Whatever it takes so that they don't keep preying on innocent people.

I saw a story this week that really angered me about a guy named Freddie Johnson.

This creature has been arrested 53 times, most of the infractions involving the groping of female passengers on the New York subway.

FIFTY THREE TIMES. How many times have YOU been arrested? I have NEVER been arrested.

But I would expect the system to have thrown me AND the key away long before the 53rd arrest.

It is a fact that many crimes are committed by a select group of people over and over and over again. It's the result of our revolving door justice system.

The good news is that if found guilty in this latest incident, Johnson could go to prison for LIFE.

The bad news is that this registered sex offender got himself in this hot water TWO WEEKS after being released from prison after serving 4 years for persistent sexual abuse!

The bad news is that despite recommendations from the state's attorney general's office that Johnson be confined under a recently passed sex offender law because they saw him as a risk, a judge decided electronic monitoring and strict supervision was enough. Apparently, that WASN'T enough, was it?

The bad news is, far too many people had to fall victim to this guy before the system paid attention.

Let's hope the system doesn't blow it again.

Your CLOTHES Don't Fit You Anymore??

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:51:00 +0000

"My clothes don't fit me anymore!"

My wild imagination conjures images of halter tops, blue jeans, and business suits conspiring against their owner in the darkness of the crowded closet.

"Psssst! What do you say we shrink a couple of sizes by morning so that when she reaches for the ensemble of the day, they fit her like Saran Wrap!!" cackles the flowery skirt to the mishievous silk blouse.

Or maybe the dress shirt shrinks to a size 14 neck just to spite the man headed to his much anticipated job interview!

Nope.

This doesn't happen. At least not outside of my warped head.

But people--and I am guilty of this at times myself--love to use the phrase "my clothes don't fit me anymore!"

The hard part to swallow here is that unless you ran your clothes through the wrong cycle or misread the care instructions, your clothes had little to do with the fact that you needed a shoe horn to fit into them this morning. And even in those examples, YOU are the one who screwed up.

You see, clothes don't stop fitting you anymore than clutter piles up on your desk. Dishes don't hold meetings on your kitchen counters and bills don't stack up on their own.

There is no mystery here.

YOU are the one doing all of this.

Yes, GASP, YOU are the one who doesn't fit YOUR clothes anymore!

While your clothes sat there waiting to be worn, YOU decided to have an extra slice of cake at the company birthday party. YOU decided that watching the ballgame was more important than the evening walk with the family. YOU decided to let yourself go.

YOU are the one who betrayed YOUR clothes! Not the other way around!

Sometimes, if you are lucky, you find that your clothes fit a little LOOSER, not tighter.

That's when you can set aside the exercise, the sensible diet, change in lifestyle, and head to the closet to thank all of your clothes for fitting you so nicely all of a sudden.

After all, THEY get all the blame when things go wrong. So why not shower them with the credit sometimes, too?

The self esteem of your sweats will never be the same again.

The Ugliest Building In The World

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer Hughes) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:06:00 +0000

OK, it's true I haven't been to every country on earth, let alone seen every building on earth.

But I am still more than a little confident that I have seen the ugliest building in the world. And it's in the once majestic city of my birth, San Francisco.

The M.H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park was once a glorious edifice that was demolished after the 1989 earthquake damaged it beyond repair. It was replaced by a horrifyingly ugly "thing" that now sits in the park like a heap of space junk that feel from the stars.

But I digress because as ugly as the de Young is, it is not the ugliest by far.

That honor would rest with the new Federal Building south of Market.

I cannot speak for other cities in America. I can't even really speak for THE City. But I can tell you one thing for sure--style and taste apparently are no longer considerations when designing buildings in San Francisco. (But luckily for our dying earth, GREEN is a consideration, as there is no air conditioning in the building and elevators stop only every three floors to promote wellness.)

But I digress.

This building, in my opinion, is an insult to architecture itself. Gone is the style and elegance that once graced San Francisco's buildings. It is the greatest eyesore I have ever seen.

Everyone I know who has seen it asks the same question: Is it FINISHED?? Why is there still scaffolding on the sides of the building? That's not scaffolding. And yes, it IS finished. That ugly, mesh look is the same look that is afflicting the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. I have never dabbled in designing buildings, but my gut tells me it's not a good sign if the casual onlooker can't even tell if your work is COMPLETE.

Is this the style of buildings of the future? Then get me a time machine and let me blast to the past. I don't want any part of it.

It astounds me that a city that would take a stand on preserving a "Doggie Diner" sign wouldn't take an equal stand in trying to preserve a sense of architectural dignity in a once beautiful city.

I grimace at the thought of future architects trying to "one up" the Golden Gate Bridge or the Palace of Fine Arts. Maybe the talent pool just isn't there any more. Or maybe I am just old and cranky and have no taste.

AM I out of line? Or do you, too, get the impression that buildings are just slapped together these days like a 7-year-old making a ham and cheese sandwich?

I'll have the prime rib, please. And take your time cooking it, OK?