Messed Up Monday

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

I have no idea what started the whole thing; I just know that whatever it was, I got sick from Sunday evening well into Monday afternoon. I thought maybe it was something I ate; however, I didn't eat anything different than anyone else in my family, and they were all fine. I just don't get it. Or I guess I should say I got it, I just don't know what it was.

Anyway, about the time I'm feeling a bit better, the heat pump for the house starts making noise. Not a little noise, a HUGE noise; like it was going to fall apart any second.

My son turned it off and we called the company that installed the heat pump. Long story short, the motor bearings went out, and need replacing. Replacement isn't happening until 10 or 11 am this morning. Needless to say, it was a cold night and morning!

Thankfully, I'm feeling better. Hopefully the house will be back to it's nice warm self by the time I get home from work. I don't like the cold!

I will be thinking warm thoughts all day, to help the process!

David Lee Murphy

I've been a fan of David Lee Murphy, (DLM), since 1995, when I first heard his music on the radio. There was just something about his voice that stood out, caught my attention, and had me hooked.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, the only songs I really heard on the radio were, "Party Crowd", "The Road You Leave Behind", and "Dust on the Bottle".

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

When I got a computer, and connected to the internet, a whole new world opened up to me.

I was able to find information about my interests,(including DLM), and I met other David Lee Murphy fans online, from all over the U.S. and Canada. These new friends would go to shows, then send group emails to the others, with photos, telling about the show. Those of us on the West Coast were grateful to those doing this, for sure!

At one point, the DLM fan group I was part of online, became known as the "DLM Angels", in reference to a DLM song, "We Can't All Be Angels". Except for those Angels who lived in the same areas, we were all online friends. The first time any of the DLM Angels actually planned to meet was in Las Vegas, 1998; and I was lucky enough to be one of the Angels attending.

(Photo courtesy of Linda Porter-Smith)

Over time, for whatever reason, radio stations weren't really playing DLM much anymore. Where I live, the only song you hear is "Dust on the Bottle", as it was David Lee's only #1 hit.

David Lee continued to tour, and write music, however, and Angels everywhere still attended the shows; so those unable to do so still experienced the fun vicariously.

From 1997 to 2004, David Lee Murphy didn't release any new music, though he continued to tour extensively across the Midwest and Canada.

As is the norm, when an artist isn't seen or heard on a regular basis in the media, people wonder what happened to them. With a seven year gap between albums, this also happened with DLM. However, while no one was hearing *his* voice on any new songs, people were still hearing DLM penned tunes on radio and videos. During this time, DLM also had songs he'd written, or co-written, recorded by other artists, like Brooks & Dunn, James Otto, Aaron Tippin, Trick Pony and a host of others.


In 2004, David Lee Murphy released his fourth album, "Tryin' To Get There". The title track was a tune he'd written with his late idol, Waylon Jennings.

The album produced a top 5 hit for DLM, "Loco".


A second single, "Inspiration" was then released to radio, and was getting a lot of good response from critics and listeners alike. The song seemed destined to be DLM's next #1 hit. However, Koch Entertainment, DLM's label, decided to switch gears on what type of music they'd be handling, and David Lee was dropped from the label.

Since that time, there have been no other David Lee Murphy albums released; and in recent years, DLM has also been touring less. There are usually only a few shows here and there throughout any given year now.

Instead, David Lee has turned most of his attention back to writing songs for others; and he's doing quite well at it.

The list of album cuts by others DLM has had over the years is extensive, and growing all the time. Instead of listing them ALL here, I've posted three songs that have charted in recent years.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Thompson Square have provided David Lee with four #1 hits as a songwriter. Thompson Square's "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" is also up for two Grammies in February 2012.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

For those who are fans of Trace Adkins, his current single, "Million Dollar View" is another DLM song; co-written with George Teren. Trace also had a DLM tune on the deluxe version of his last CD; "Happy Man", co-written with actor/singer Christian Kane.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

Obviously, as a David Lee Murphy fan, I could go on and on about the man; I won't though. Today's post is simply my way of sharing information with those who may not know who David Lee Murphy is; or all that he's accomplished in music. It's also my way of saying, happy 53rd birthday David Lee, and here's to many more!

(Photo taken August, 2010, courtesy of Louise Wright Hargis)

Keep It Simple Silly!

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


Sometimes I think I make things more complicated than they should be; for instance, coming up with a post for the "KUPL Listener Word of the Day". Normally I talk a mile a minute, about anything and everything. Because of that, you'd think writing a post and having a word would be a breeze; not the case.

Instead, there are times I find myself wracking my brain to come up with something worth reading, and a good word to use; such is the case with this post. Thinking, and thinking, wondering what to write about; then all of a sudden the light bulb came on, DUH! When all else fails, just keep it simple, and write a post about not having anything to write about!

Mission accomplished! Now let's just hope I don't have this problem again!

Two for Three and One for One

On January 4, 2010, "Simon & Sam in the Morning" signed on the KUPL airwaves for the very first time.

At that time, it was Scott Simon, Amy "Sam" Bishop, and Jolynn Winter.

The new morning team had their work cut out for them, to say the least. They were stepping into territory that had been occupied for fourteen years by Lee Rogers. To say the least, many, many listeners were not happy about this.

For a time "Simon & Sam" struggled to gain the support of listeners. Some had completely tuned out KUPL, in protest of the changes that had been made; others stuck it out a bit longer, with some eventually leaving as well.

Four months into "Simon & Sam" being on the air, "Sam" decided to leave and go back to Arizona, where she was from originally.

The show title was changed to "Simon in the Morning", and long time KUPL employee, Earthquake Jake, was brought in to take "Sam"'s place.

Jake has always been a favorite of KUPL listeners, and he fit in well with Scott and Jolynn.

The three hit it off immediately on the air. What had once sounded forced with "Sam", was genuine with the reformed "Simon in the Morning" team.

Two years later, it's the same way. You can hear it in their voices on the air, how well they work together and genuinely like each other. I don't know about anyone else, however, for me, the people on the air are almost more important than the music. Granted, I have to like the music I'm listening to; though if the DJ's aren't good, I'd change the station. Never happens in the mornings anymore with me. There's so much going on between 5 and 10 am weekday mornings on KUPL, you almost forget there are songs being played also!

So here's to a very happy second anniversary of "Simon in the Morning" and hoping for many more!

On a side note, January 3, 2012 was the first anniversary of now producer, Eduard "Sputnik" Rusu, joining the morning team.

Eduard was an intern when he started with KUPL, and has since been hired as part of the morning team. Congratulations, and happy first anniversary to Sputnik as well!

3D Fun

Well, the holidays are behind us, and it's time for everyone to get back to their normal routine.

For those who took vacation during the holidays, it may be a bit rougher to head back to work. While co-workers held down the fort, those on vacation were able to set their own pace for the holidays. No getting up early, no having to dress for work; none of the average things one does daily.

Because of this, one would think it would be best to let the returning employee(s), ease back in to their schedule; not true! The longer someone has been gone, the better it is to snap them back into reality as soon as possible!

For example, one of my co-workers, Doug, (I wrote about him in a previous post, when his bear ran away), took the last two and a half weeks of the year as vacation.

Where we work, a lot of the time those last two weeks of the year can be really, really busy; so one person gone can make a difference. Luckily, this year was an exception to that rule, and our department wasn't overloaded too much. Not that Doug can escape that easily though!

That's where the "3D Fun" comes in to play. "3D" stands for "Doug's Desk Dilemma". Rather than bore everyone with details, I've supplied photos of Doug's desk, beginning the day after his vacation started:

At the end of every day, if something had been changed, I took a photo of Doug's desk:


It was a lot of fun, even though the boxes did come back to bite me. Someone ordered an item that was in one of the boxes; and we had no idea which box it was in; so we had to lug out a bunch of them to find what we were looking for. My cube is on the left, showing how many boxes had to be moved.

Once we were done looking, all the boxes were put back into Doug's cube; though they didn't all go back in the same way they came out. No big deal though, just added some tape, and the job was complete!

For those anxious to know the outcome of Doug's Desk Dilemma, the following video was shot the morning of Tuesday, January 3, 2012; Doug's first day back to work after his long vacation.


Despite all that was done to his desk, Doug had it put back in order within 45 minutes! He's still missing one of his carts though; it's been hidden in our department.

Thanks once again Doug for being such a good sport!

Smell The Roses!

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

It doesn't matter if you like sports or loathe them. It doesn't matter if you have a favorite team, athlete, etc., or not. What matters, in the long run is, when something major happens, everyone bands together as one to support the local team.

Such is the case with the University of Oregon. Whether you're a die-hard U of O football fan, or like their rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, better, or even another college team, it doesn't matter. The University of Oregon made it to the 2012 Rose Bowl, to play the Wisconsin Badgers. Anyone in the Pac 12 region should be proud the team made it that far, whether they're a fan or not.

And what made it even better for the 2012 Rose Bowl game is this:

The Rose Bowl winner's trophy! For the first time since 1917, the University of Oregon has won the Rose Bowl, (45 to 38)!

Way to go DUCKS!

Welcome 2012!

Whether 2011 was a good year, or a bad year, it's now the past. Time to start new in a new year, and hope for the best for everyone.

With that, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year. Let's all strive to make 2012 the best yet!

(My apologies that this wasn't posted sooner! I *thought* I had posted it; but I didn't, until now. Oops!)