Tom_Johnson's Blog

So I'm a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan.  I am fascinated with his strange but sometimes breathtaking architectural masterpieces.  I did not know until today that he actually designed one skyscraper in his lifetime.  You can see a picture of Price Tower (<<<Link) below.  Here's my question... why is it Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  From what I can tell this small city is about 50-miles north of Tulsa.  Now... the man who founded Phillips Petroleum... did so there.  But besides that... what merits Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper being there?  I'm sure there's more to Bartlesville than I know... I'd just like to hear what it is.  If you know... please tell!

So... the FOX 35 newsroom is buzzing this morning.  We finally have a choice for our coffee in the breakroom!  I don't know about other offices around the country... but I do know that in pretty much every tv station in the nation... the regular coffee you find in the break-rooms tastes like the same swill!  Not sure how that happens... but I swear it's true.  Not anymore here though.  Oh sure... the free pot is still there... but there's also this coll little machine next to it now.  For a quarter you get your choice of regular coffee... a mocha... a latte... hot chocolate and a couple other varieties.  People in the newsroom (at 4 a.m.!) are very excited about this new choice.  I have not tried it yet... but the time will come... and soon.

What's the coffee situation like where you work?

Perhaps the greatest thing about living in Florida... is the "staycation."  This is where you take a vacation... but you "stay" home or close to it... you never have to leave Florida.  I have a long weekend and we're exploring a new destination.  My family are meeting up with some other relatives in Treasure Island over on the west coast.  It's only two hours from my own house... but it'll feel like we're off on a vacation... errr... "staycation."  It's one of the many reasons I love living in Florida.

I know I'm very late in this game but... I saw the Blue Man Group for the first time recently. (My wife and I went for our anniversary!)  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  It really is a cool show.  I expected it to be very musical... a little odd... and a little funny.  I did not expect it to be REALLY funny and wildly entertaining.  It was though.  My wife lucked into front row tickets when she went on line to buy ours.  (I'm pretty sure all the tickets are the same price and these just happened to be available.)  Anyway... it's amazing to me that this company is able to find performers who are not only exceptional musicians but also have incredible comic timing.  These guys are really funny!  The staging of the show is pretty darn cool too!  I have to say... I recently talked with someone who saw BMG and they said they were disappointed.  I'm not sure how that could happen... but I thought I'd be fair and share that.  If you have not seen them... try.  It's a world class show playing right here in our backyard at Universal City Walk.  Here's a sample of what you'll see:

Not sure if you've heard or not... but Ozzy and his brood are gonna give TV another go.  This time... and I am not making this up... it's gonna be a variety show!  Seriously... "Television Week" magazine reports the working title is "The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous."  TVW says it's based on very popular European variety shows and will feature competition, stunts and performances.  Before you scream: "Yeah right... like that has a chance to succeed!"... you should know that it's being produced by Fremantle Media North America.  They have a pretty good track record with a little show called "American Idol" and also NBC's "America's Got Talent."  Oh by the way... you'll likely see it on FOX 35 because TVW says FOX signed up for six episodes of the show.

Ozzy Osbourne doing a variety show.  That should be good TV... if you can understand what he's saying!

O.K... now that I have your attention... I'll fess up.  I'm not talking about the 1980's one hit wonder "Tiffany!"

I'm also not talking about the Tiffany jewelry company.  I am however talking about some just as spectacular and also culturally significant.  I'm talking about the world's greatest stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany.  Did you know that the most comprehensive collection of Tiffany's works are housed in Winter Park?  Now you do and you owe it to yourself to check it out because it is spectacular.

I had read about the collection at the Morse Museum of American Art several years ago.  The one thing that interested me more than any other was the chapel Tiffany created for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.  The museum has the ENTIRE CHAPEL (see photo below) as an exhibit... floor-to-ceiling.  To say it's amazing would be like saying Rembrandt was a pretty good painter!

I finally got to see the collection (and the chapel) on July 4th.  The museum had an open house and we happened to park next to it when my family went to the fantastic Winter Park Old Fashioned 4th event.  It did not disappoint.  I'm just sorry it took me almost five years to finally get there.  If you get the chance... take it... you will not be disappointed.

Orlando gets a genuine red carpet movie premiere tonight.  It's a new mixed martial arts film called "The Red Canvas."  John Savage is one of the stars.  He first made a name for himself as one of the 3 main stars of 1979's Oscar winning Best Picture "The Deer Hunter."  My favorite role of his was the following year co-starring in "Inside Moves" with David Morse (see movie poster below) .  It was really cool getting to meet him and talk a bit.  The director of the new picture is Ken Chamitoff (on the right in the photo).  His brother Greg is a NASA astronaut who's on the space station right now.  They're actually beaming the movie up so he can be one of the first to see it.  Pretty cool stuff.  Here's a photo of them with Lauren and I on FOX 35 Morning News.  (Click the "Mornings" tab up top if you wanna see my interview with John and Ken.)

I messed something up and my from Friday did not post for some reason... so I apologize if this seems a little dated.

I love the 4th of July and have a lot of good memories throughout my life that are tied to the date.  First and foremost... my wedding anniversary is July 5th.  So... July 4th... 11 years ago... we had a great rehearsal dinner!  It was an old fashioned southern barbecue at this really neat place overlooking the Saluda River in Columbia, SC.  Lots of family... good friends and good eats then... fireworks for dessert.  GOOD TIMES!  July 4th will ALWAYS make me think of that day.

As for memories of the actual holiday... I'm always taken back to Washington, DC.  I lived in the DC 'burbs for a long time growing up.  We always went downtown for fireworks on the 4th.  If you've never seen them there... make a point to try at some point in your life.  Many of those years featured a free concert from The Beach Boys on the Washington Monument grounds.  One year... it actually broke the attendance record for an outdoor concert that was set by "Woodstock!"  We would hang out all day listening to great music then watch INCREDIBLE fireworks bursting over the beautiful DC landmarks when the sun went down.  Truly magical!

The Beach Boys free concert on the Washington Monument grounds. July 4, 1981

(See me?  I'm about 25 feet from the stage... on the right hand side.)

DC Fireworks over the Washington Monument

Help me out here.  I need some good, simple hummus recipes.  I have a decent recipe for a plain and basic hummus.  It's actually quite good... but I am growing tired of it.  Do any of you have some good, easy to make recipes you would be willing to share with me (and the rest of the world?) 

Here's a hummus variation that I just found online that really sounds great.  The blogger says this recipe makes a LOT of hummus... so you might wanna cut it down.

Thai Curry Honey Hummus

2.5 lbs cooked garbanzo beans (1 lbs garbanzo beans soaked and boiled makes about 2.5 lbs cooked beans)
2 tbls. chopped garlic
¾ cups tahini
1 tbls Curry paste – Thai curry paste –
¼ cup lemon juice
¾ cup water
½ cup honey
1 tbls. salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbls. Madras curry powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ Tsp cumin
¼ tsp nutmeg

Combine in a food processor and spin away!

That could be the new funny catch phrase if Mike Myers catches lightning in a bottle again with his newest, nutty big screen character.  His new movie is called "The Love Guru" and it comes out today.  I've seen the trailers and the "mini sutras" posted on YouTube. (check out the trailer below!)  Myers plays the "2nd greatest guru in India."  And in typical Mike Myers style... he has a goofy catch phrase.  Instead of some wise words... his "Guru Pitka" greets with "Mariska Hargitay."  (You know the actress from "Law and Order: SVU"?) All of it is HILARIOUS and I cannot wait to see the movie!  Now... if I only had a babysiter to watch the kids so my wife and I could go!!!

Last week I promised to put up some photos from my friends amazing wedding on the beach near Charleston, SC.  Breaking News and the weekend prevented me from doing that but... I have finally succeeded!  Here are some of them.  If you wanna know more about the wedding... check out the blog I wrote on it last week. (<<click the link!)       

And now... the photos!:

"The Crowd Gathers Near!"

"The Ceremony Begins"

"The Bride and Groom"

"The Kiss!"

"The First Dance"

"The House Where It All Happened"