As much as I would love to regularly update you on my mindless ramblings, as you can see by my sporadic blog posts that just isn't happening.  The ideas are inside my head, but getting them typed up......well, there just isn't time.

But...I have come up with a solution.... If you miss hearing from me and my skewed view on life, you can check out my new video blog.  I've quickly found out that it's much easier for me to ramble on for a few minutes and post it to the web than it is to type it up.  It's almost like having me there with you face to face, except in a much smaller version.

The good news, each video blog is only about 3-5 minutes long (which yes, I know is less than I normally ramble), and will be here for you to watch at your leisure.  So... if you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, hop on your computer and watch an episode of my video blog.  It'll probably put you back to sleep rather quickly!

You can watch the videos here on my MySpace video player, or even better yet at my new blog site kevinmasonblog.com.  If you ever have any suggestions for topics, let me know.  You know me.....I LOVE to talk! 

This weekend I'm off to Disney World for a weekend full of fun, food and great music from an amazing newcomer by the name of Crystal Shawanda. Her debut single "You Can Let Go" is incredible even to my cynical ears.

We're staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort, you know the one that the Monorail runs through. What struck me as odd, was its' name. How can a hotel built in 1971 still consider itself "contemporary" 38 years later? Perhaps it has flat panel HD televisions in every room (yeah right, it's Disney World). I just hope the wireless internet is free (I know, I know, it's Disney)!

If you have no life and have actually read most of my blog posts, you'll realize that I'm a changed man.  Yes, when I hopped aboard the MySpace train, I really didn't have much use for blogging.  But even a stubborn old guy like me can change.  In fact, I've always enjoyed change.  It keeps me busy and keeps my mind fresh.

Well in the last few months I've started singing a different tune.  You see, for most of my life, I was a much more verbal person.  I guess that's what 27 years behind a microphone will do to a guy.

Back in school, teachers always told me how much they enjoyed my writing...except for that "......." punctuation thing that I fell into....

SIDEBAR..... If you've ever gotten a memo from me you know about the "......"  And if you haven't been a recipient of the Kev-Memo, you'll pick up on my use of the "....." very soon.  In fact, I might even blog about it  

The problem for me, was that talking came much easier than writing ever did.  Because when I write, I tend to rewrite...and rewrite... and rewrite until I'm exhausted (notice the time of this post).  And in all honesty, I stare at the page (or screen in this case) and wonder "how can I make this better"?  

When it comes to speaking, I just open my mouth, and hope that my brain is engaged.  Once the words come out, there's no rewriting.  It always seemed much easier.

But, since I'm always up for a challenge I thought that this time around, I'd take up writing.  I'll apologize now....in advance. 

With all that said, the reason for this post is to point you in the direction of my new blogs (yes it's plural).  Here on MySpace you'll still get the mindless ramblings of this once angry young man, (I also post these missives at http://mister4xl.blogspot.com if you're so inclined.), but at Blogspot I also have 2 proessional blogs.

First is my music marketing blog: http://marketyourmusic.blogspot.com and second is my "team" blog for the new non-profit consultancy that I'm a part of: http://lilfishconsulting.blogspot.com.  These new projects and companies have been keeping me very busy and we're very excited about the prospects for each.  I'd love to get your comments and feedback, here or there.  And besides, we can use all the web hits we can get.....

I spent the holiday weekend catching up on some shows that I had TiVo'd and hadn't had a chance to watch.  One of those shows was a recent episode of Alton Brown's "Feasting On Asphalt 2" from the Food Network.  This particular episode featured a dear old friend....the Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Quincy, IL. 

For the uninitiated, the Maid-Rite is a loose meat sandwich kind of like a Sloppy Joe, but without the tomato sauce.  You might even be familiar with the sandwich if you were a fan of the old Roseanne TV show.

The Mason's called Quincy "home" for nearly a decade during my formative years, and one of the things that I remember most was Maid-Rite.  Hell, Maid-Rite helped make me the man that I am today. 

I actually didn't discover Maid-Rite until my last couple of years in West Central Illinois.  The Maid-Rite was located on the North side of town, and we never had any reason to visit.  But during my last 2 years of High School in Quincy, we enjoyed a phenomenon known as "open lunch".  

Open lunch meant we could go off campus to eat, and we did....often.  Burger Chef, Taco John, and Maid-Rite were frequent lunchtime stops.  We'd cram 5 guys into Ty Quinn's Firebird and head out....I can close my eyes and remember it like it was yesterday.  Hard to believe it was really over 30 years ago.  In fact, every time I hear Heart's "Barracuda" it reminds me of Ty, Larry Foster, Jeff Pfaffe and Alan Brady and our lunchtime trips to Maid-Rite.  Those WERE the days!

So after catching Alton's sojourn to my old stomping grounds, I decided I that needed a Maid-Rite....NOW!  A trip back to Quincy this afternoon was according to the wife, out of the question, so I hit Google to see where the closest Maid-Rite was located.  A road trip will probably have to wait…because the closest Maid-Rite's are in a couple of small towns near Dayton, OH. 

Maid-Rite is actually part of a chain that started back in the late 1920's in Iowa.  The Quincy Maid-Rite is one of the oldest locations still in existence.  The interesting thing about Maid-Rite, is that each of these original locations is unique, and the only thing that they share is the formula for the Maid-Rite itself.

Today, the Maid-Rite chain is trying to expand and become more like a "normal" fast food chain with identical menus, and a uniform look.  Many people say that the standardized Maid-Rite's aren't as good as the ones you can get in Quincy, but for now that might just have to do.  I'll let you know when I get back!

If a visit to Maid-Rite is physically out of the question for you, I do have a solution.  A few years ago I tracked down a recipe for "Quincy Maid-Rites" and included it in a charity cookbook that I took part in.  It's not the real thing, but it's damn close.  Enjoy!

Quincy Maid-Rite's

2 Tbsp. dried chopped onion                      ½ tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. water                                            6 hamburger buns

1 lb. lean ground beef                                Prepared yellow table mustard

1 ½ cup chicken broth                               Freshly chopped onion

½ tsp. salt (use less if broth is salted)         Sliced pickles 

Soak dried onion in water.  Crumble ground beef into a hot skillet and cook over a medium-high heat.  When the soaked onion has begun to soften, add it (and its' water) to the beef.  Stir frequently as the meat browns, using a spatula to break the meat into small crumbles.  When the meat is browned, add chicken broth, salt, and pepper.  Cook until the liquid is almost gone, roughly 10 minutes.  Serve meat on buns with prepared yellow mustard, chopped onion, and pickles.  Makes 6 sandwiches.

 

I've finally broken down and joined the blogging revolution.  I've been fighting the urge for a very long time.  In all honesty, I really don't know many people who would care to read my mindless ramblings once, let alone on a regular basis.  But... I have actualy had a few friends ask me "if I blogged".   Until this evening, I've always been able to answer an emphatic NO.  But sadly (?) no longer....

You see, for 27 years I actually had a place that I could speak my mind...the radio...so there was no need to express myself "publicly" through a blog.  Now granted that specific location actually changed on a somewhat frequent basis....Radford, Roanoke, Tidewater, Charlotte, Huntsville, Bloomington, Indy, Akron.....but I did have a place to express myself.  In October 2006, I called it a day, and hung up my headphones.

Since then life has been.......... in flux.  I left radio to take a job in the music industry.  My dream job lasted just 4 months, as the record company I went to run lost both of it's backers and shut its' doors for good.  Fast forward (or not so fast forward) six months, and now I split my time between Ohio and Tennessee, putting a ton of miles on my car.

The trip between Nashville and Northeast Ohio is 500 miles one way, and takes about 7 1/2 hours to drive.  I've made the trip so many times, that I think my car could drive itself.  My wife, of course, has suggested that I not try to find out.

As I make the drive back and forth every week, I have a lot of time alone....to think.  Now those who actually know me already accuse me of thinking too much to begin with, but give me nearly 8 hours in the car by myself, and the topics that come to mind are sometimes quite bizarre.

Now.....since I no longer have the radio as a place to regularly speak my mind, I feel the need to express myself in some fashion.....hence, the blog....or Blog-O-Rama as the title states. I really don't know where the title came from, I think it was somwhere between Lousville and Cincinnati.... or was it between Cincinnati and Columbus?!  I know, it doesn't really matter...but, that is the point of all this..... I couldn't write the blog until I had the title. Sadly, I've had the title for months.... I just didn't know where to start......

Welcome to the Madhouse......

During my "downtime" I've been keping myself busy by taking some classes in web design. 

Web design and graphic design have always been a passion for me, and I've finally found some time to get some formal training.

My first project is finally getting kevinmason.com up and active.  Stop by and let me know what you think:  kevinmason.com

Who knows, maybe someone will give me a gig!

Let me state for the record, that I HATE blogs.

Let's be real, do you really care what I have to say about anything?  If you're a friend, you already know how I feel about damn near everything. 

If you work for me.....you already know how I feel about almost damn near everything. 

If you're neither a friend nor an employee.......I can't believe that you've gotten this far.