Sunday, November 26, 2006

It's getting sent UP the river that's supposed to be depressing. Not driving downstream.



It's getting sent up the river that's supposed to be depressing. Not driving downstream. Yesterday's events, however, flipped that script.

Here's the lowdown.

I'd left Long Island in high spirits and all was uphill 'til high noon. I had scheduled a late-morning meeting in Yorktown Heights and delighted in the scenic, northbound drive across the East River and several Historic Hudson Valley waterways. I've always been a sucker for scenery and open water.

The pleasant, productive sitdown hit high notes, too. The [dare I say, "other"?] smart, upbeat, socially conscious participants and I all left looking forward to collaborating anon.

Unfortuntely, the tide changed during the return trip.

The homebound trek began with my moseying happily down Croton-on-Hudson's scenic waterfront drive, all five senses firing. I'd naughtily savored a Scooter Pie (what they are, where they are), shaking crumbs from my napkin-bib into the trashbag while drinking in the view of the sun-dappled, tree-lined Croton River. Holiday tunes were jingling on the radio. Fresh, fragrant air was wafting in the open windows.

At Underhill Avenue, I picked up the Sprain Brook/Taconic Parkway South. One exit past the Croton Dam, something I saw punctured my balloon of eullience.

I'd switched lanes and found myself behind a tan-colored, late-model Mitsubishi Montero. A quick glance revealed that its driver was a deer hunter. The evidence was a dead deer bound, bellyup, on the backboard, stiff legs tied in a prayer-shaped steeple, hooves scraping the rear window.

Read: Not ALL U.S. women go wild for hunting. ###



Thursday, November 23, 2006

Holiday turkey (tips). Get 'em while they're hot.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Before you and yours gobble, gobble, gobble your holiday fare, let's talk turkey. Feast on these tips I promised on yesterday's Lisa Tolliver Show for preparing food that is both tasty...



...and memorable for the right reasons:



Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Today's 'Lisa Tolliver Show' was sponsored by Lend America (November 22, 2006)


Today's Lisa Tolliver Show was sponsored by Lend America (November 22, 2006).

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Cash back averaging $750 or more!

Contact Lend America:

  • Telephone (01) 631-944-6977 and tell 'em you read their ad on Lisa Tolliver On Air and Online or heard it on the Lisa Tolliver Show on WVOX 1460 AM.

DISCLOSURE: Lend America sponsored the November 22, 2006 and November 8, 2006 Lisa Tolliver Show broadcasts but does not otherwise compensate me or my ventures. I accept Lend America's sponsorship because I believe their offerings are beneficial.




ON AIR: Today I'm hosting 'SCORE Radio' and the 'Lisa Tolliver Show' back-to-back


Join my SCORE Radio guests and me at 11:30 AM, Eastern Time and Lisa Tolliver Show guests at noon. Tune to New York Radio WVOX 1460 AM, stream us at wvox.com or hear and share via call-in-line at (914) 636 0110.###

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Halloween 2006: Tisha Campbell and TiChina Arnold spoofed Tyra Banks and Miss Jay

Channeling and spoofing celebrities on Halloween is old hat. The trick to standing out among the crowd is to zero in on recognizable, easily caricatured features, or better yet, to pair up to portray closely associated celebs.

Tisha Campbell and TiChina Arnold did just that this year. Treat yourself to a look at these photos at Media Take Out - 2006 -Tisha CAMPBELL DRESSES UP LIKE TYRA, which depict the devilishly funny duo spoofing America's Next Top Model's Tyra Banks and J. Alexander (a.k.a. Miss J. and Queen of the Catwalk).

Coordinating their 2006 Halloween couture was the latest collaboration of the long-term gal pals. For example, in 1986, Ms. Campbell and Ms. Arnold played Chiffon and Crystal [named after two 1960s girl singing groups] in the big-screen version of the science fiction/fantasy/horror film/musical, Little Shop of Horrors, respectively. From 1992-1997, they also co-starred on the small-screen, playing Gina and Pamela on the hit TV sitcom Martin. In 1997, they made tracks on wax, duetting in a remake of the Emotions' hit single "Don't Ask My Neighbors" [on the soundtrack of the "farcical black comedy, Sprung" (1997)].

PHOTO - The Martin cast - "From left to right: Tommy Strawn (Thomas Mikal Ford), Gina Waters (Tisha Campbell), Martin Payne (Martin Lawrence), Pamela James (Tichina Arnold), and Cole Brown (Carl Anthony Payne II)." Courtesy of Wikipedia -Martin (TV series).

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Let's gang up to kick butts!

Today's the 30th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout. Let's gang up to kick smoking, stomp butts and T.K.O. secondhand smoke!

Why? How? Who should participate? Who's behind this?

Glad you asked. David Levine, American Cancer Society's Director of Media Relations, explains:

On November 16, Americans who smoke and want to quit to [sic] are urged to call the American Cancer Society’s Quitline®, a clinically proven, free telephone-based counseling program, at 1-800-ACS-2345, or to log on to www.cancer.org/smokeout, to embark on a personal plan to quit. In addition, Americans are encouraged to work to protect the public from exposure to secondhand smoke by supporting smoke-free workplace policies in their local communities and states.

“The American Cancer Society is here to help smokers who want to quit. On the 30th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, we urge smokers to learn more about quitting and make a plan to begin a smoke-free life by calling the Society’s Quitline® at 1-800-ACS-2345,” said Richard C. Wender, M.D., American Cancer Society president-elect. - ACS Press Release 11/13/2006

I've got your back, too. Cancer killed my father - who was a long term smoker - in September 2005. I was helpless to help him, but am lit up to help prevent and alleviate suffering associated with "death sticks" (a.k.a. "cowboy killers" and "cancer sticks") and secondhand smoke. And I'll be thankful - this week before Thanksgiving, and the remaining 364 days - for each individual who stops smoking and who helps create smoke-free environments.

Let's band together to blow smoke - not out of butts - out of the environments we work, play and live in.

Get started. Check out ACS.org and MSN Health & Fitness: Special Guide: Stop Smoking.##

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Let's do lunch. Today's the recognition luncheon for the RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) of Westchester

Let's do lunch. Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else interested in being inspired should join me today. I'll be at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in White Plains from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM. That's when RSVP (the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) of Westchester will be hosting the annual recognition luncheon for its 1,000+ volunteers. As you may recall, Marianne Partridge and I announced this event on the air November 8.

Tickets are $50. You can buy them at the door.

More details are available here:

Lisa Tolliver is Mistress of Ceremonies for RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) of Westchester Recognition Luncheon
Nov 14, 2006 from 11:30 AM to 02:30 PM
White Plains, NY

- Event Hosted by Eventbrite. Come see what else I'm up to.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

The New York Times: Not too high-brow to dish the lowdown on trash TV

Photo of Flavor Flav and The Flavor of Love, season 1 contestants.
Courtesy of VH1.

INTRODUCTION: Some dismiss trash TV as a wasteland, devoid of value, even damaging. St. Petersburg Times Columnist Jan Glidewell - who admits to watching - defines the genre as "inane, lowbrow, bogus, moronic, exploitive crap," and "schlock television show[s] with absolutely no redeeming social significance." Other communicators (domestically and abroad) characterize the New York Times as high-brow and elitist.

Those claims have some validity, but as sweeping generalizations they are garbahge. Case in point: as Lola Ogunnaike recently demonstrated, the New York Times is not too high-brow to dish the lowdown on Flavor Flav and VH1. The show: VH1's wildly popular, The Flavor of Love. The review: "A Ladies’ Man Everyone Fights Over."

It bears noting: Ms. O's review of VH1's trashy, wildly popular cable TV show was educational. Okay, so only one of the lessons learned was worthwhile. The others, like junk food, were of dubious value but fun to consume.

LESSON ONE (worthwhile) - I'd wondered how VH1 execs rationalized the exploitative nature of The Flavor of Love series and were responding to criticism. Lola O.'s interview pulled the curtain on VH1's reality ratings wizards:

To Michael Hirschorn, the executive vice president for original programming at VH1, the reasons millions of viewers tune in every Sunday night are clear. “The accidental appeal of the show was the play between ‘Are these women for real or not? Are these women there for him or are they there because any fame is completely intoxicating?’ ” he said. “Instead of covering that part of the show up, we decided to make it integral.”

Asked whether the show was exploiting racial stereotypes, Mr. Hirschorn, who is white, said he didn’t think so. “I would also say I’m not in the position to make that judgment.” But, he pointed out, “the show is disproportionately popular among black viewers, and the comedy is very inclusive.”

My response: politically correct rubbish!

LESSONS TWO and THREE (fun to know) - Flav removes his dental grill(e) before eating, and in addition to his dental jewelry, pendant clocks, Viking hat, Dame Edna sunglasses and flamboyant togs, Flav sports another trademark, one that is meaningful to him. As Lola O. documented:

“A lot of people favor Flavor because I have good karma,” he said. A giant cream-colored clock hung around his neck (he has close to 100 of his signature accessories), and his nom de rap was engraved on a gold dental grill, which he removed as if it were a retainer when it was time to eat. He also carried an assortment of more than 50 keys. “These are the keys to my future,” he said, cackling loudly.

I'm sure there's more to know about the keys. I'll have to ask Flav about them when he returns to my show.

Yahoo has a yodel. But Google's got Flavor!

SOURCE: Youtube:Video: Flavor Flav gives Google the clock - Valleywag

Friday, November 10, 2006

National Veterans Awareness Week (November 5-11) is a good time to participate in the Veterans History Project

November 5 through November 11, 2006 was designated by the 109th CONGRESS (2d Session, S. RES. 507) as "National Veterans Awareness Week." The objective: to emphasize the need to develop educational programs regarding the contributions of veterans to the country.

National Veterans Awareness Week is also a good week to participate in and learn from existing programs, such as those described on the official Veterans Day webpage. I am particularly passionate about one program listed there: the Veterans History Project.

Here is how the Veterans Day webpage describes the Veterans History Project:
The Library of Congress invites you to join it in collecting audio- and video-taped oral histories, along with documents such as letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and home movies, of America's war veterans and those who served in support of them during World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf Wars.
Come participate.

Remembering Ed Bradley

Photo courtesy of Ed Bradley - Wikipedia. Read permissions.

I was saddened by reports like this one by New York Times' Jacques Steinberg:

Ed Bradley, a pioneering black journalist who was a fixture in American living rooms on Sunday nights for more than a quarter century on “60 Minutes,” died today. He was 65.

- SOURCE: - Ed Bradley, Veteran CBS Newsman, Dies (November 9, 2006)

Edward Rudolph "Ed" Bradley, Jr. (June 22, 1941 - November 9, 2006) died from complications associated with a form of cancer called lymphocytic leukemia. He was my hero. Watching the MSN video: Remembering Ed Bradley explains, briefly, why.

The rest of the world admired the veteran newsman, too. The multi-talented man made numerous contributions to society and his profession. And on and off camera, "Big Daddy" was serious when called for, and at other times displayed a passionate joie de vivre.

Ed Bradley's accomplishments earned numerous honorable distinctions. Two awards had special meaning, as described in this excerpt from New York Times - Ed Bradley, Veteran CBS Newsman, Dies. (The bold type is mine)

Last fall, the National Association of Black Journalists honored Mr. Bradley, who was among the first wave of African Americans to break into network television news, with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I grew up in Philadelphia rather protected from life in the South,” Mr. Bradley said at the association’s awards ceremony in Washington. “Emmitt Till and I were the same age when he was killed, and that was my introduction to the reality of life in this country for a black person in the mid 50’s. When we were awarded an Emmy earlier this year for this story, I said it was the most important Emmy I had ever received. I would say the same thing about your recognition tonight.”

Another award in the same vein was a 2004 Broadcast Excellence Award for Coverage of Race and Ethnicity. The prize-winning CBS, 60 Minutes piece in that case, was: "Alice Coles of Bayview."

I was in attendance when Columbia Journalism School presented the award to the teacher-cum radio personality-cum TV correspondent. The venue was a three-day, Ford Foundation-sponsored, "Let's Do It Better!" workshop for outstanding journalists and media gatekeepers. I was thrilled to participate, and even more thrilled to meet my media idol.

My affinity for Ed Bradley extended beyond his work on television. We shared many interests (although his shoes were far bigger than mine). Both of us have worked in education, advocated for civil rights, enjoyed stimulating conversation and good music, and began broadcasting (professionally) on radio.

Ed Bradley, after earning countless kudos and 19 emmies, broadcasting for 25 years on 60 minutes and living 65 years on earth, has moved onward and surely upward. However, the mark he made is larger-than-life and fond memories will be everlasting.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Roundup of today's 'Lisa Tolliver Show' (November 8, 2006)



YOU SHOULD BE DANCING, YEAH!

Yahudy Diaz of the Boy Scouts of America/Greater New York-Bronx Council is organizing the 1st Annual Father Time Rocks Dance-A-Thon. Come out and support your local Boy Scouts of America unit! Ask a friend, family member or co-worker to sponsor you to dance five hours to every type of music there is to hear. Enjoy the day with food, prizes and lots of fun.

  • DATE: November 18, 2006
  • TIME: Noon-7:00 PM, Eastern Time
  • DANCING: Will start at 1:00 PM, Sharp!
  • WHERE: Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx.
  • DRESS CODE: Every participant must wear SNEAKERS to dance!
  • PARKING: Available for $5.00
  • TRADITIONAL PLEDGE*: $5-$10 per hour, maximum 5 hours
  • CHECKS: Made out to the Boy Scouts of America
  • GET DIRECTIONS
  • FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phone Yahudy Diaz at 212-651-2882 or email ydiaz AT bsa-gny DOT org

Come support this fun(d)raiser. The target is $4,000. Together, we can raise it - one step at a time!

**********

INCREASE CANCER AWARENESS & KICK THE HABIT!

Frank McGhee, Media Relations Director for American Cancer Society prepped us for an important upcoming date. The 30th Annual American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout will be Thursday, November 18. Need a reason to quit smoking? Get inspired by others and join in online. Visit www.cancer.org/livefreesmokefree. Your health, your life - It's time to live free smoke free.

I want to hear how you did. Tell, Frank, the world and me on WVOX and wvox.com November 22 when I'll be hosting SCORE Radio and Lisa Tolliver Show back to back. Tune your radio to WVOX 1460 AM, hear and share at (01) 914-636-0110, or visit wvox.com at 11:30 AM -12:30 PM, Eastern Time.

**********

WEVR-MRC Emergency Preparedness Tip # 14 - RECOGNIZING AND TREATING SHOCK

Marianne Partridge, Program Director of the Westchester Volunteer Reserves-Medical Reserve Corps, shared WEVR-MRC Emergency Preparedness Tip # 14 - RECOGNIZING AND TREATING SHOCK.

**********

RSVP NOVEMBER 14, 2006

Marianne also discussed the November 14 reception to honor participants in the Westchester RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program). The reception, sponsored by The United Way Volunteer Center, will be held at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains. I'll be hosting. Hope you can come. Get details.

**********

WHAT'S NEXT

  • November 11 - Veterans Day
  • November 14 - RSVP Reception at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains, NY
  • November 18 - Boy Scouts of America 1st Annual Father Time Rocks Dance-A-Thon
  • November 22 - I'll host two back-to-back shows on WVOX 1460 AM and www.wvox.com:

SCORE Radio: Counselors to America's Small Business (11:30 AM - noon, Eastern Time)

Lisa Tolliver Show (noon - 12:30 PM, Eastern Time)###

Today's 'Lisa Tolliver Show' was sponsored by Lend America (November 8, 2006)


Today's Lisa Tolliver Show was sponsored by Lend America (November 8, 2006). Today's featured Lend America products are Liberty Grants and Liberty Grants Plus.
Lend America is a Designated Liberty Grant Lender.

The Liberty Grant Website explains:

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These excerpts from the Liberty Grant Website describe the Liberty Grant and Liberty Grant Plus programs:

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  • "The Liberty Grant provides gift funds of 2.25% of the home sales price to be applied toward the purchase of your home. This means you can buy a home with less cash of your own. "

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Contact Lend America:

DISCLOSURES: Lend America is a Lisa Tolliver Show sponsor but does not otherwise compensate me or my ventures. I accept Lend America sponsorship because I believe their offerings are beneficial.



Sunday, November 05, 2006

You only live once unless you're the Marlboro Man



You only live once unless you're larger-than-life. Three secular, larger-than-life icons are Bond, James "You Only Live Twice" Bond, the mythical cat o' nine lives, and the Marlboro Man. Sort of.

About.com's Lisa Fayed explains:

Q: Did the Marlboro Man Die of Lung Cancer?

A: The answer is yes. The stetson wearing, rugged face of Marlboro did in fact die of lung cancer, not just once, but twice.

Many men played the role of the Marlboro Man throughout the years and two of these men died of lung cancer.

The first Marlboro Man to die of lung cancer was Wayne McClaren [sic] in 1992. He appeared in ads for Marlboro in 1976. He spent many years after his lung cancer diagnosis promoting an anti-smoking campaign.

IMAGES and captions courtesy of Wayne McLaren - Wikipedia contributor Plenz: (1) Wayne.McLaren.healthy: "As the Marlboro Man, promoting an 'independent lifestyle' in 1976." (2) Wayne.McLaren.sick: "Lying there with all those tubes in you, how independent can you really be?"

Lisa Fayed continues:

The second Marlboro Man to pass of lung cancer was David McClean [sic], who succumbed to lung cancer in 1995. His family filed a suit against Phillip Morris [sic], citing he had to smoke sometimes five packs of cigarettes a day in order to complete commercial filming and print ad shoots.

The lawsuit also contended that Philip Morris gave McLean cartons of Marlboro cigarettes as gifts. Read more details about Marlboro Men, the lawsuit and the lives of McLaren and McLean at Snopes.com - Marlboro Manslaughter.



Wikipedia reports: "A fictitious version of this ironic situation was featured in the comic novel Thank You For Smoking: A Novel" and "A movie based on the novel was released in 2006. While the characters are essentially the same, the plot differs substantially."

Come to Marlboro Country or Death Valley?

Bottom line: the Marlboro Men and other iconic smokers may be larger than life, but the real people who play and emulate them are not. Read about other celebrities who have died of lung cancer.

Compare these pictures from tobacco.com and their respective captions. Their juxtaposition recalls the 23 Psalm: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures [...]. Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death[...]."



'Nuff said? Apparently not. Monica A. Doyle posted the following, favorable review of Marlboro Red cigarettes in a dooyoo.co.uk post entitled,"Cowboy Killers":
I know alot [sic] of people say they are a strong cigarette and that is why they got that nickname. But for me it is what I first started to smoke and always will smoke. The have just the right taste and flavor and are smooth as well. Atleast [sic] with Reds I know the quality of the cigarette not like with some of those cheap brands. Where you are diffently [sic] not getting what you pay for even if it is cheaper.
Dooyoo members gave Monica's review five stars and rated it "somewhat useful," "useful" and "very useful."

Useful for what? Brrr. That review and its ratings chill my blood.

Ad Age Advertising Century: Icons: The Marlboro Man addresses these cold realities:

Even with the release in 1957 of the first article in Reader's Digest linking lung cancer to smoking[*] the real men of the Marlboro ads kept ringing up sales ($20 billion that year), attracting new smokers of both genders. In 1964, they revived the cowboy but this time he was in mythical Marlboro Country. This vivid image paid off in 1971 when cigarette ads were banned from TV.

The striking print shot of cowboys enjoying a smoke on horseback continued to fuel sales growth. In 1972, Marlboro became the No. 1 tobacco brand in the world.

As the anti-smoking movement has spread, the Marlboro Man has come under particular attack for his role in luring new customers to a cancer-causing habit.

* See Original Studies/History: Reader's Digest Chronologies / summaries /articles: THE EMERGING PATTERN OF ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN. A CHRONOLOGY [of 12 articles from July 1957 to November 1966]

You can find Marlboro, Marlboro Country, and other classic tobacco company ads here.

I hope stories like those of Wayne McLaren, David McLean and my father [Robert S. ("Bob") Tolliver] - a smoker who contracted emphysema and died last year of lung cancer - will make some smokers kick the habit and others butt out before they start. There's a reason why cigarettes are called "cancer sticks," "death sticks" and "cowboy killers." Wayne McLaren's before and after pictures tell the tale.

Unlike the mere mortals who portray them, the heavy-smoking Marlboro Man and James Bond (who smokes 60-70 cigarettes daily and sometimes cigars) were never born but will live forever. The Marlboro Man tops USA Today's October 2006 list of The 101 most influential people who never lived. James Bond ranks #51.

Two other prominent smokers who light up the list are childrens' favorites. #4, Santa Claus (Saint Nick), smokes a corncob pipe. #78 is Joe Camel.

This real-life icon is a more suitable role model. In the photo to the left (from Kathleen Schalch's NPR report: "The Marlboro Man: Present at the Creation") Montana rancher Herf Ingersoll poses beside a 1970s Marlboro ad he modelled for. He's come a long way, baby. Thirty years after lending his face (soul?) to the world's best-selling cigarette brand, Herf - who has given up smoking - is still standing tall. Photo: Jackie Yamanaka.


Wednesday, November 01, 2006

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month



November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. It's also fourteen months from the date lung cancer killed my father. He was 74.

No ifs, ands or butts about it: smoking can kill. As I've posted previously, Dad, a long-term smoker, contracted emphysema in the winter of 2003-2004. In May 2005, he was diagnosed with devastating, fast-moving small cell lung cancer. That was days after we buried his sister and about two weeks before my birthday. Four months later, Daddy was dead.

In the interim, my father became oxygen-dependent and wheelchair bound (until breathing difficulties confined him to bed, rendered him helpless and stole his dignity). Radiation treatments burned his skin. Chemotheraphy made him nauseous and bald. Dad lost the ability to taste and ultimately, to eat. His arms and fingers became pincushions riddled with trackmarks from regular withdrawals of blood and insertion of tubes.

That last night, we watched TV together until Dad fell asleep. News coverage concentrated on Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast devastation. Local newscasters repeatedly noted that our location (on the Rockaway Penninsula), was equally vulnerable. Dad and I did not discuss the obvious: should a major storm blow our way, he would likely perish.

That was sobering, especially for a helpless man who was already dying.

The discussion we did have was a splash of cold water. I wouldn't embrace the reality that Dad was dying until he issued a verbal DNR. Blessedly, I did not have to execute his order. Dad died soon after I left the hospital.

Until his rapid, late-in-life decline, my handsome, hale and hearty father had presented the picture of health. After Dad died, my brother, Bob Jr., recounted an occasion when Dad saved his life. Bob had been working under a car when the jack collapsed. Lightning fast, Dad grabbed the two-or-three-ton vehicle and held it aloft, allowing Bob to escape unscathed.

Dad was our hero, but he was no match for tobacco or cancer. Today I submitted his photo to Lung Cancer Alliance - Faces of Lung Cancer and tapped into some support resources for people affected by lung cancer. I sincerely help you will do all you can to spare yourself, loved ones and others from a fate like Dad's and those of us who mourn him. Here are some suggestions.

Feel free to check out these related phlogs:

Following are some books about lung cancer, songs I've played in radio tributes to my father, and a list of father-daughter songs. As my musical selections reveal, I'm a daddy's girl.