I really haven’t been a big fan of making up new year’s resolutions.  If there’s something to change in my life why wait until January 1st to do it?    If I decide in March that I really need to kick my shoplifting habit should I wait another 9 months to make that change?

However, the management here at 105.5 Triple M says I must make a list of resolutions for 2010.  So here it goes:

1) I will not judge people’s facebook status updates.  If my “friend” Jason wants to tell me about “making a killer piece of toast before heading out to the office this morning” that’s fine.  I will not comment…out loud.

2) I will not punch the automatic check out machine at the grocery store even when it doesn’t read the bar code on the frozen peas I’m holding and have been running past the electric eye twenty times already!   Yes!  I’ll take my change.  Just give me a second!  I’m trying to bag some groceries here!  Of course, it’s always embarrassing when the pimply faced 14-year-old who works at the store has to come and bail me out when I get stuck trying to figure out how to type in the code for the red bell pepper I’m trying to purchase.

3) I will try not to HATE Jon and Kate, Spencer and Heidi, Sarah and Todd, Rush and especially Glenn.  Actually, I don’t think I can do this last resolution. 

Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck

Should old acquaintance be forgot..okay I don’t know the lyrics to that fine ditty either. But I do know this video impresses me and annoys me at the same time.

Happy New Year!  Be Safe!

Jazz, pop and country-tinged singer and pianist Norah Jones will play at Overture Hall on March 15 to showcase her fourth album, “The Fall.”

Norah has taken a new direction on the The Fall, experimenting with different sounds and a new set of collaborators, including Jacquire King, a noted producer and engineer who has worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, and Modest Mouse among others. Jones enlisted several songwriting collaborators, including Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, as well as her frequent partner Jesse Harris.

Jones also put together a new group of musicians to perform on the album, including drummers Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer).

Check out Norah’s very fun skit / performance of a new version of YouTube’s 12 Days of Christmas as done with Jimmy Kimmel on the December 16th broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

You can also snag this cool Norah widget:

Enjoy!

     How cool would it be to stumble upon Bono “busking” on State Street?  Busking is street performing for tips, I just learned.  On Christmas Eve, Bono along with Glenn Hansard, Damien Rice and Mundy busked on Grafton Street in Dublin.  The money collected went to Simon Community, an organization serving Ireland’s homeless.  The Swell Season’s Glenn Hansard apparently tweeted the thing was going down and here’s the outcome.  Watch ‘em all do “Stand By Me” and “One” in this video…

What a great way to end the year and decade… a new song and soon to be released album from  the John Butler Trio.

I have loved this band from very first time I heard Zebra. He has been in to Studio M and totally captivated the crowd. He can make his guitar sound like a whole band, and I don’t really understand how. All I know is, Wow!

Here’s the official video for the new single, ” One Way Road”. You can download it now at CD Baby and the other usual download places.

Want good luck in the new year? Ringing in 2010 with a glass of bubbly is delicious, but if you want to assure good luck, you need to eat some herring.

At least that’s what the deal was at my house growing up. My dad always bought a jar of pickled herring to eat (apparently the kind in horseradish sauce would not have the same effect.) I’d always wondered about that..so I did a little research on the internet and found out that’s a German tradition. Makes sense, since my dad was German, Irish and French (and maybe Native American).

While perusing the internet for the herring  information, I discovered some other New Year’s Eve traditions that aren’t quite as “fishy.”

In Spain and many Latin American countries, you eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each month, to bring good luck.

In the south, you’re supposed to eat black-eyed peas. Apparently they resemble coins, and thus bring you prosperity in the next year.

But here’s the tradition I like the best. I’m not really sure where it originated, but at midnight,  you’re supposed to eat anything shaped like a circle, like doughnuts, to bring you good luck in the next year.

I figure if it brings you luck at midnight, why not eat them every day for a little added assurance?

Today is Tiger Woods birthday.  If you’re friends with Tiger, what the heck do you get that guy THIS year?!  Actually I think it’s probably hard to find him a gift any time.  The guy has made more than a billion (yes, BILLION) dollars over his career.  It seems like he probably owns everything he wants already.

However, this year is probably even more challenging considering his current situation.

I don’t really feel sorry for Tiger.  Obviously, he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place.  He could have remained a very “active” bachelor for another ten or fifteen years before getting hitched.  There’s nothing wrong with that plan–just ask Derek Jeter.  However, once Tiger got married he should have no longer been on the prowl.

Back to the main topic here.  What the heck do you buy Tiger?  There are so many greeting cards these days I wonder if they have one for Tiger’s situation?

Here are some suggestions:

Outside of card:  Another year has gone by pretty fast…
Inside of card: …But not as fast as some of the women you’ve been running with these last few months.

Too harsh?  Is this any better?

Outside of card:  It’s your birthday!
Inside of card:  Hopefully you won’t lose any endorsements today.

No?  Okay, this one should do it:

Outside of card: An important message on your birthday — Some days you’ll sink your putt easily and on other days you’ll end up in the sand trap.

Inside of card: In this upcoming year remember getting it in the hole should not be your only goal in life.  You should think about golf too.

As 2009 draws to a close, we’re all wondering..what’s ahead for 2010? Lucky for you, I have a clairvoyant streak. And a crystal ball.

Here are some of my predictions for the New Year:

-Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz makes up for snow plowing mistakes by agreeing to mow every one’s lawn this summer. Outlying neighborhoods first.

-After the statewide smoking ban goes into effect in July, all bars cease to exist. Business flourishes however at lemonade stands.

-Octo-mom, tired of taking care of so many children, sets several of them aloft in an experimental weather balloon, but doesn’t tell anybody.

-Coldplay releases a new album, and is sued by Flock of Seagulls for ripping off one of their songs. The songs sound nothing alike..they just wanted their name mentioned in the same breath as Coldplay.

-The president and first lady are embarassed when they show up uninvited to a soiree at the home of Tareq and Michaele Salahi. The Obamas insist they had an invitation.

-Hoping for more international publicity, Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger lands a part time job at Denny’s.

-NBC announces Jay Leno will be getting an even earlier timeslot, anchoring the 5th hour of the Today Show.

-Taylor Swift turns 21, cuts off her hair and gets married in Vegas. For some reason, Britney Spears is really jealous.

-For the first time,Ticketmaster fees surpass the price of concert tickets. The company does not feel your outrage.

-Scientists find cures for swine flu, the common cold, and premature hair loss. But since the health care bill was never passed, no one can afford them.

Happy New Year Everybody!

One of the fun things about the holidays is a big dinner, whether it be ham, turkey or a roast. And a big dinner usually means leftovers.

If your kids ( or you ) get tired of the same old sandwiches, check out these amazing creations:

If you want to see more, including the Hello Kitty sandwich, just click here!

Happy creating and happy eating!