Beech Tree News Network

Dear MTV,

This past weekend, I was thinking about how far we’ve come pertaining to how we listen to music.  I probably bought my first cassette in about 1985.  I didn’t get into cd’s until sometime in the mid-90’s.  The iPod came later for me.  Just when did all these forms of entertainment originate?

It’s Hot Don. Everyone says that phrase these days as summer rolls around. Do you know where the phrase originated? Flash back 25 years ago to Evansville car dealership owner Don Moore. “Typical TV spots are 30 seconds long”, begins Moore. “It was in the Summer of either ’86 or ’87. We had finished a spot that ran 25.5 seconds. Don Aldridge and I were doing post-edit and the spot was (4.5 seconds) too short”. Moore was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Aldridge said “give me your shirt”.

Saturday night, June 16th, a large crowd of music and car enthusiasts gathered at Pizza Zone for the St. Jude Jam/Cruise-in featuring Southbound.  Among the many cars and trucks brought for show were: lime green Silverado truck, jet black Duster, light blue SS, red Stingray, black Monte Carlo SS, dark green 2001 Bullitt, red 340 Duster, baby blue 396 Turbo Jet, a red C-10 350 truck and a bright yellow Vega, along with several motorcycles.  There was some great pizza and live music as well.  It was pretty much all you could want.

Back when veteran newsman Andy Rooney passed away, I posted an article about it on facebook.  Several said I reminded them of him.  The man had an incredibly long career as a journalist, so I’m good with the comparison. Much like that Andy, the older this Andy gets, the less he puts up with other people’s crap. 

Sunday night, May 20, the Billboard Music Awards began with a performance by LMFAO.  Not often am I embarrassed by a music group, but this is one exception.  I seriously couldn’t even look at the screen during their performance. Afterwards, hosts Modern Family’s Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen welcomed us and had some hilarious skits.  They actually did those skits throughout the show, which was great. 

I’ve noticed that, as I get older, I get more opinionated.  There’s both good and bad to that axiom.  It’s good for me because, well, I write an opinion column.  It’s kind of my job to have an opinion. Also, if you didn’t have an opinion and voice it, people won’t know what you think.  In certain instances, you will be asked for input, your opinion.  People want to know, and you should give that information.

Monday night April 2, the University of Kentucky Wildcats won their 8th National Championship.

The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards was held Sunday, April 1. They kicked off with Carrie Underwood performing her brand new hit “Good Girl”. After a humorous introduction, including some playful jabs, by co-hosts Blake Shelton and Reba, they introduced Nashville Star alum Chris Young who sang his song “Save Water, Drink Beer”.  Zac Brown Band then performed their latest hit, “Keep Me In Mind”. Those guys were awesome! They always put on a solid performance.

Kentucky vs. Louisville, Ohio State vs. Kansas are the match-ups in the 2012 NCAA Final Four Saturday afternoon and evening. Certainly OSU/KU will be a great game. However, the fact that the ultimate (that’s right, tobacco road fans) rivalry will be played in the Final Four for the first time ever is nothing short of extraordinary!