Rag' Mag

Weekend MAG Breakdown:
    Since part of what I do involves going through magazines, I thought it would be a good idea to post the highlights (and lowlights) of what I’ve read. So here goes…..

EW(Entertainment Weekly)
    News and Notes has an interesting discussion of whether NBC’s Golden Girl, Katie Couric will be moving to evening news at CBS, as well as what the heck the CW is and what it will bring to network tv. The story of “Producer-gate” and “Commander in Chief” is revealed and the cover story on Kanye West has an interesting angle…but by far the best article is from Dalton Ross, who spent a night in “Exile” on the set of the next Survivor. (I’ll be sharing part of his story this week on the air…very good, and humorously written).

TVGuide
   Other than just listings there are articles on  Omar Epps(House) and his character, as well as a guest performance on ER this week from James Woods…a Survivor Re-introduction, and if you’re a “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, a look at the newest “Couple in love”…(it’s not who you think).

People
   If your not tired of hearing about Benn-ifer, it now seems like it’s morphed into Vaughn-ifer as in Vince Vaughn. That’s the cover story anyway…sounds like Jenna Elfman’s new show is going to do well(better than Heather Graham anyway)…and the questions you want to ask about “Dancing with the Stars” are answered, including, “How do the dancers not slip on the floor that looks like it was just waxed?”

  That’s the basic breakdown this week. Look for a topic of the day later this week….and again, thanks for reading….--JP

P Must Go! (Third time is the charm)

OK, after a completely non interested performance, two of the judges were right, my pick this week to be off Dancing with the Stars is Master P…(third time is the charm)..I do feel bad for Ashley though…we’ll find out tomorrow night.
   I have rented “Hitch”, which I’ve seen and “Batman Begins” which I haven’t, and will post reviews probably Sunday on these two movies, as well as things to look for on tv in the upcoming week, plus who’s story is the focus on LOST this upcoming week.
  Enjoy the weekend and the Civil War and Go DUCKS! --JP

Idol...Evangeline and the rest of the week

   Hope everyone is having a good week. I’m chillin’ at home tonight watching American Idol. Tonight they are in North Carolina and so far they have sent more women than men to Hollywood, for tonight anyway. Simon’s official line for season five is, “I don’t mean to be rude but…..” – I feel this year that Simon has returned to his cool, suave crudeness of seasons one and two, complete with a complaint or two. Mr Michael Jackson is cracking me up over here….Marcus needs to SLOW it down…he got the Randy and Paula DVD…..he made Simon’s day. Simon loves the world…HA!
   Rhonetta is cracking me up and she hasn’t even sung yet. OK, onto the outlook for the week.
   LOST: Tomorrow night’s episode focuses on Charlie and his drug addiction, although I would be more interested in his romance with Kate(Evangeline Lilly) in real life…but that’s not going to happen. CSI: (Thursday) focuses on Catherine’s family..that should be interesting, considering her father is like the Vegas Casino Mob Boss. (Can’t wait to see what Mom does.) Later this week I’ll be talking about the 2006 movies we’ll all be talking about, and probably already are. Don’t forget to come back and let me know what movie your looking forward to seeing as we head into summer. (Let me know by clicking Comment by the pencil below)…Go Rhonetta!! LOL
  

Movies, Robin Williams and an Oscar Prediction

Aaaah, sitting here on a Sunday evening…watching Seven and The Italian Job, jumping between the commercials. It was great to see the sun this afternoon. I am also still getting over the aftershock that Master P is still on Dancing with the Stars.
Things will be gearing up this week for Satin Love at the Hilton on Valentines Day. That is going to be a blast. I am looking forward to it.
There is some great tv ahead this week including another “Charlie” flashback on LOST and CSI is going to delve into Catherine’s family by way of a murder…how else? I still think that CSI is one of the best shows on television. FOX of course has Idol and 24, to which 24 has sucked me in again and American Idol has Simon…the ever lovable Simon. Do you think he’s gone to far this year…or he has returned to the lovable Simon from the first two seasons. Write me a Comment in the section below. (next to the pencil) and let me know.
As far as movies…some great ones with Robin Williams out on DVD this week including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society, both of which garnered him Oscar nominations. I had a chance to watch Robots over the weekend, the animation was incredible, the plot was okay and the lines were too…(Robin played the voice of “Fender”…thank you IMDB.com for a quick lookup).
I also had a chance to see Crash, similar to Love Actually in the sense of it being a mixture of five or six different stories all tied into one. It will definitely receive an Oscar nomination, there are some great actors in it including Terrance Howard, Sandra Bullock, and Brendan Frasier. Check it out if you get the chance. It is one of those films that will make you think.
Well, back to Seven, or The Italian Job…talk to ya soon and thanks for reading…

Master P...3 for 3???? HUH???

An interesting week, wrapped up with probably one of the most fun remotes I have had since I’ve been here in Eugene. It was a blast doing the show from Kiefer Kia yesterday..lots of cute kids…As for the shows this week. I can’t believe(and am in shock) that Master P is still on Dancing with the Stars! (Perhaps Week 4 he will be gone)…Who knows.
  American Idol was great this week. However I found out the two gentleman who serenaded Paula on Monday night are in jail for armed robbery, so we’ll see if they make it to Hollywood. Other than that Monday night I thought Simon was a tad harsh, and back to his Season 1 and 2 ways. (Which seems to be what everyone loves). I’m looking forward to football tomorrow, even though I’m an Eagles fan..I guess I can cheer on the Seahawks. ..although I think Carolina is going to be a lot to handle, but for Aaron who is going to be at the game..GO SEAHAWKS….

"24", Bachelor, and Gillian's Return!

  I’m sitting here on a Sunday night, once again wondering where the weekend went. It was nice to see the sun today to help things dry out for at least a day. I’m looking forward to the Season Premiere of “24” in about an hour. I just found out that Emily’s Reasons Why Not and Jake in Progress are being bumped tomorrow for an ever exciting encore of “The Bachelor Does Paris.” Albeit my own title but if they renamed it, people might actually watch.
   American Idol begins on Tuesday, so look for a review on air Monday and probably Tuesday as well. I’m looking forward to this Friday and the tryouts for the Kiefer/STAR idol. They get to appear in a commercial that will be on during American Idol. Listen for more details all this week.
   Gillian Anderson, from the X-Files has a new show on tv. I’ll be talking about that this week as well as keeping you up to date on Midseason Premiere Week 2…

Dancing with Stacy!

I’m sitting here watching Dancing with the Stars and I still feel that WWE’s Stacy is the one to beat. She was amazing tonight. It kinda reminds me of the sports adage of it’s Texas and the nine dwarfs…and yes, they were right..her legs seem to get longer.
  It was good to see a new episode of LOST last night that wrapped up yet another piece of the LOST mystery. OK, Master P is up…gotta see this…aaah P and the quickstep. Len said, “I suppose you put your had on the other way, you get a little more speed.”..overall he was a tad better and loosened up, but unfortunately for Ashley I think P is headed home this week. Tomorrow night will tell the story.
Hope to see you tomorrow at the New Car Expo starting at 5…remember..not a selling event, just come check out the cars….  --JP

Do You Still Care About the Olympics?

Click Comment...

Emily, Jake and the 10 O'Clock News(kinda)

   Had a chance to watch Heather Graham in Emily’s Reasons Why Not. Funny show, Jake In Progress is back as well and now I’m suffering through the opening of The Bachelor…it’s the part where all of the girls are coming out of the limo and meeting him for the first time…the girl from West Virginia said to him, “and your name is Travis”….forgive me for asking, but aren’t you supposed to know that BEFORE you fly 5000+ miles to meet Travis?
   Tomorrow I’ll be talking about Michael J Fox returning to Boston Legal tomorrow night at 10 on ABC. He’s going to have a stint of three episodes playing a character that falls in love with one of the Boston Legal lawyers. It will be good to see him on television again. I am one of the many who grew up watching him on Family Ties and then the Back to the Future Trilogy.
   A quick note on the Women’s basketball game from Saturday. I owe an apology to my date from that evening for making her sound a certain way when she is the complete opposite. I meant for the line to go over being funny, where it may have been taken out of context. This woman is one of the more intriguing ones in the area, she loves to laugh and have a great time wherever she goes or whoever she is with, or so it seems…and I am glad that she is giving some of that time to me.

Rain, Planes, and SUVS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(plus some other Saturday night observations)

I, like the rest of you, wish that the rain would come to an end sometime before spring gets here, but I also realize that there will be more rain in the spring. The evening began over by Red Robin at Valley River Center watching the deluge of rain and the SUV Olympics with people trying to get that FIRST spot closest to the restaurant by driving about 50 mph to the spot, only to lose it to the car in front of them.
I was then off to the Women’s Basketball game at Mac Court vs Stanford and WOW what a game. For those of you who were there if you were sitting by an obnoxious guy who stated the obvious the entire game wearing a black shirt, that was me and I apologize. I feel even more sorry for my date that evening, she later told me she would have had fun watching you guys tear me apart. I was throwing out lines like “Hello, this is the Oregon Women’s Basketball defense, no one is available at the moment, please leave a message.”, after Candace Wiggins scored yet another three pointer from the key with no show from the Oregon defense. She ended up with 37 for the game. I was doing it in fun and some people were laughing.
After the game we headed to Turtles for a quick bite and a great conversation. We wondered about the people who worked traffic outside the game and why they were carrying those light sticks you would see at the airport, perhaps a 737 was going to land right in front of Mac Court for the game – that would also explain the lack of parking in around seventy five parking spots.
The rain in the area is again allowing me to bring a good friend back into the equation. Noah(yeah, the one with the arc). I have a “blue phone” in the STAR studio and he calls once in a while to let me know where in the area he is. Noah likes to give tours of the arc (with balloons for the kids!)

Well, off for a lazy Sunday.. --JP

Fun with Dick and Jane(sorta)

Fun with Dick and Jane(uh…sorta…more entertaining.)

In typical Jim Careyesque fashion this is a GREAT movie if you are a fan of his. It’s also a great first date movie (funny, entertaining, and interesting – watching Jim lose his job and all of his possessions (even the lawn is repo’d) and getting it all back is somewhat refreshing. There is a definite lag in the movie at certain points and Alec Baldwin’s character reminded me of an old boss, which in itself was pretty funny.
However, Carrey is at his slapstick best and Tea Leoni blends her wit along with his to make their scenes pretty enjoyable. Again, a good first date movie, and a “comfortable” film if your bored on a rainy Saturday.

USC vs TEXAS (THE National Championship)

   I’m sitting here at home watching the first quarter of the College football game of..well..this decade anyway. I know I live in the world of the Pac-10, however I don’t feel I’m the only person in Lane County routing for the Longhorns.
   I spent this morning recording a spot for Keifer Kia for a promotion we will be doing very soon on STAR, more details soon. It was especially fun getting in front of very bright lights at 9am, slightly early for me. I’ve been somewhat tired, I think it’s the jetlag from returning from Philadelphia late last week.
   I find it interesting that some of the best things in 2006 are also parts of some of the trends for the year(courtesy of AOL.com). Specialty dances are back in, we get to relive 1999/2000 all over again. I think a lot of it has to do with shows like “Dancing with the Stars”. One of the other things that is considered “hip” again is rollerblading, and ladies, you’ll love this one…Cocoa cafes!!! That’s right, café’s that specialize in chocolate. You’ll never be depressed again, or maybe you’ll be making up excuses to be depressed.
    Tomorrow and Thursday I will be talking more about the second season of “Dancing with the Stars”. I already have a copy of “next week”’s tvguide, too bad I can’t talk about it till “next week”. Also, Friday I will be seeing Fun with Dick and Jane, so look for a review on Monday!

               --Justin  

Review of King Kong

KONG was my Top Movie for 2005!
---------------------------------

The movie starts out pretty slow, we don't see Kong or the marvel it took to create the beast for about an hour and fifteen minutes, but some of the screen shots before he makes his appearance assure you that it is worth it. (The movie could be a bit shorter, they could have cut out about forty five minutes to an hour.)
With all of the publicity this movie has garnered over the last year and all of the articles I read I went in with some expectation that the film was going to be good. The 1933 film shattered box office records at the time it was released, the 1976 version had some protests as it was filmed at the World Trade Center rather than the Empire State Building and the 2005 version had more miniatures in it than did all three Lord of the Rings films, so there was some expectation.
There are some great scenes and once the picture gets going it doesn't feel as long. The Kong scenes are intense and I would not suggest taking the little ones to this film. They will have nightmares and will never think of African Americans the same way ever again. The scenes with the bugs were enough to make half the theatre squeamish and the "planes over the Empire State Building" were enough to give the entire theatre vertigo.
King Kong is one of those films where knowing the history behind it will allow you to enjoy Peter Jackson's version even more. I had a chance to watch the original King Kong from 1933 on AMC over the holiday. You can see where Jackson pays "homage" to that film and other films, some are obvious, others somewhat subtle and perhaps playful.
This film will sweep the Academy Awards for special effects this year. It would also not be a surprise if Naomi Watts scores an Oscar for her performance, with the exception of being in an evening gown in the middle of winter and on top of the Empire State Building without falling off, her performance was stellar.
King Kong is a film that you HAVE to see in the theater so drop the $10 bucks and enjoy the wrath and tenderness of THIS King Kong.

New Years Eve/Satin Love and Being in "Peril"

New Years Eve 2006

New Years Eve was probably one of the most entertaining evenings I have had. The day began early, after arriving in Eugene from Philly at around 5am. I was up at 9:30am to begin the day. I had a few errands to take care of and it was 4 so I headed to the Hilton. It was me and four females getting ready for the New Year. I was ready in about 10 minutes and with all the hair it took them a little over an hour.

The evening emceeing for Satin Love went great, complete with a Countdown to midnight about 90 seconds out, and I even managed to hit the dancefloor a bit.

However, the real fun was after the show. At around 1:30 am a group of us were chillin’ in our room and we heard “noises” from the room next door. These “noises” were of a tree tapping on a window on a windy night type of nature, so we decided to “bang” back.

What happened next was great. There was a knock on the door about thirty seconds later. Danny was relegated to answer the door, or at least check out the muscleman knocking on it—but this muscleman was not a man at all, but a woman, buck naked, knocking on our door. Needless to say we did not answer the door. It was the night of vintage pajamas for the ladies. Nikki was wearing “Barbie” and Emily was wearing “Wonder Woman”, complete with the “W” on the top. She exclaimed without missing a beat, “Maybe she is in peril.” We then had thoughts of the “Invisible Jet” outside the woman’s window and trying to explain this to the cops.

Food was an option around 3am, so some headed off to IHOP…to which Nikki requested “French Toast”, she received “Pancakes” and was not to happy about that. The genius Danny got the two confused. Nikki was meticulous in what we would need that night. She brought her microwave, enough coffee, snacks – the rest of us covered the alcohol. No one got too blitzed and a good time was had by all…Thanks again for getting the room Nik!

Things I learned New Years Eve:

1. It is cool, it may be the new thing actually, to be in “Peril”

2. Vintage PJ’s are always cool to wear.

3. (Something you guys may never see, that I can actually vouch for) – four women in
the bathroom at the SAME TIME. It can be done!!

4. Satin Love closes every performance with “We Are Family”. It is ironic for me
because outside the band, it’s the same people I get to work with everytime.
Security, Sound, and Lights. It’s nice to have this group together the few times a
year we get to work together. I appreciate all of you and the work you do
including the band.

P.S. -- Don't make Valentines Day plans just yet....Keep listening to STAR for more details soon....:)

2005 Holidays

The 2005 Christmas holiday was a good one for me, minus the flights that my bags did not make it on…for two years in a row! The time home visiting friends and family in Philadelphia went way too fast, but it was good to see some radio friends including Damian from WLAN in Lancaster and Craig Allen from SOJO in South Jersey.
I visited my Mom, just outside of Fresno for Thanksgiving so I figured I was due for a “Karmically” good flight after that fiasco, but not so…another disappointment from another airline.
  Ironically the same thing happened last year and the same guy brought the bags to my home in Philly as did last year. I told him, “Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in 2007.”
  As the week home came to a close I looked forward to Satin Love and New Years Eve at the Hilton. The flight home brought my bags, which was good, but also a two hour delay in Las Vegas on my connection to Eugene. I was with some of the stragglers from the Holiday Bowl loss. The flight left Vegas about two hours late, which put us in at around 3:15am, it took an hour for the bags, even though we were the final flight in for the night. (Having not had this experience before from the Eugene airport I figured it was worth mentioning. My apologies to the little old lady who was in charge of all those bags, I guess she forgot her walker.) Home to sleep for four hours and then up for New Years Eve, I headed to the store and then to the Hilton for a New Years Eve that none of us will soon forget. It included a new word for 2006,  a woman at the door, and “French Toast”.

  

Happy 2006!!!

I thought I would do something new for 2006. I've decided to let you all into the world of a radio DJ. From time to time I'll jump on here and let you know what I am up to, both on and off the air...and may even give you some "insider tips" when it comes to contests.
Hope that everyone is having a good 2006 so far and I look forward to keeping it entertaining for you this upcoming year on STAR 102.3!!

--Justin Phillips
STAR 102.3/Afternoon Personality