Watch this clip and then post your comments below the video box with your thoughts about this. Was it a hoax?

I turned on the FOX 25 News this morning and before my TV put the picture on, I heard the voice of my good friend Lenny Clarke.  And if you know Lenny, you know he has a very recognizable voice especially with all that screaming he does!  They should make an alarm clock that instead of buzzing, just has Lenny yelling “Wake up you lazy piece of s%$t!” over and over again.  I guarantee you, that would have you jumping out of bed in no time!

Me with Lenny during the Request for Help 2009

Then there was a clip of him being introduced by Rodney Dangerfield at a comedy gig many, many years ago and I could not believe Lenny had such a full head of dark hair on that melon!    It reminded me of the guy who was driving the limo to my semi-formal dance freshman year of high school.  We couldn’t tell if he was an adult film star or just a limo guy with that flowing head of hair.  But I digress….(and I know Lenny will most likely find that funny, if not, I’m sure he will just tear me apart next time I see him!)

Lenny at Giggles

On a serious note, Lenny is a great guy.  He is always giving of his time and helps out where he can.  He performs at numerous charity events and is always there for people in their time of need, especially when it involves children.  Last year, Lenny came in and hosted an hour of the MIKE-FM Request for Help to benefit the Franciscan Hospital for Children.  He was supposed to be here for 1 hour and stayed for almost 5!  Thanks to Lenny (and the kind donations of our listeners and corporate sponsors including New Balance and SBLI), we raised over $93,000 which blew away our previous years total!  And now, Lenny could use your help!

This Sunday, Lenny along with a gaggle of comedians (yes, I used the word gaggle) including Tony V, Steve Sweeney, Joe Wong, Frank Santorelli and many more (I apologize for the names I missed) will be putting on a benefit show at Prince Restaurant on Rt. 1 in Saugus (click here to check out their website).  It is to benefit his niece Mary who is Autistic.  Autism is becoming more and more topical these days as it continues to affect more children then ever before.  If you watched the Celebrity Apprentice this season, Holly Robinson Peete was playing for her foundation that is working on issues with Autism.  She also worked with Snapple and has a drink on store shelves now called “Compassion Berry Tea” (click here to check it out).  Families who have an autistic child struggle with the costs associated with the treatment and care needed to help their child.  Hopefully, as awareness grows with Autism, more money is placed in the hands of the people doing research and in the hands of the families who need it so they can give their child the tools and resources they need.

Prince Restaurant/Pizzeria Rt.1 Saugus

The event is this Sunday night at 7:30 PM.  Giggles Comedy Club is located inside of Prince Restaurant/Pizzeria, 517 Broadway in Saugus.  For tickets, call 781-233-9150.  Again the tickets are $25 and that includes FREE Pizza thanks to Prince Restaurant owner Steve Castraberi!  I talked to Steve today and he was so happy to be able to help Lenny raise money for his niece Mary.  He echoed my words about Lenny always helping others and this is a great chance to help him out.

Lenny loves Prince Pizza!

For more info, directions or to buy tickets, call 781-233-9150 or visit www.princepizzeria.com 

Here is the video of Lenny on the FOX 25 News this morning:

I‘ll be at the grill all weekend for work and pleasure. So in preparation I do some reading and identify any new techniques, recipes or healthier insights to grilling. I read an interesting article in which the host referenced “5 tricks to better health”, that link is below. It captures the essence of what our “random acts of cooking” blog has posted in some of our earlier topics. Fortunately Ms. Wright M.S., R.D. identifies the formal side of ingredients and there benefits. Take a moment to read through…

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-tricks-to-grill-your-way-to-better-health-1464885/

To give you some additional thoughts on grilling check out our 9 “how to” grilling videos.  Offered are ideas on everything from grilling vegetable’s, beef, poultry, seafood and desserts! They are complete with recipes.   

http://www.youtube.com/user/CookingwithBernard

So enjoy the long weekend, get creative and play it safe + smart. We love to hear what’s on your grilling menu.

Thanks Bernard

I can remember as a child going to the grocery store with my Mom.  If I was a good little boy, (which was rare and most likely a reaction to the benadryl she would fill my little cup with as if it was juice), then she would give me a shiny little coin to put in the vending machine so I could spoil myself with a bouncy ball, plastic spider ring or a gum ball so hard it would crack my tooth. 

There really wasn’t anything in the machines that would be considered harmful to a child (well, except for lead paint which at the time, we were clueless about) or inappropriate.  I guess things have changed since the late 70’s/early 80’s as the little trinket pictured below was found in a toy vending machine at the grocery store.

Yes, you are reading it correct.  The little toy is a plastic shaped bottle of Whiskey.  That is just what every little kid is hoping for when they drop that quarter into the red little machine!  There is no way they want the pink necklace or the fake gold ring!  Whiskey is where it is at!  Great job vending company!  What’s next?  Square flat pieces of plastic that just say “magnum condoms”?  Plastic joints?  I guess we all have to keep an eye on what our kids are spending their quarters on!

Shop Smart, Eat Healthy and Be Creative…

That was the theme of our “team building” cooking classes this week. We made a variety of recipes that balanced creativity, healthy eating and simple cuisine. I think the one that stood out most is the Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken Sausage.

So, for three consecutive days and one hour per day during their lunch time employees learned and tasted how to prepare some great recipes. The goal of this Boston based company was to provide there employees more ideas on eating better. Its one thing to work out but it’s another thing to nourish your body with the right fuel to get the job done! What we do, is provide the opportunity to demonstrate or work with individuals on “how to” make life in your kitchen easier. Fortunately some people understand and acknowledge the link between eating healthy and staying fit. One does help the other…the order of preference is personal…I think we need food first though! What’s your thought? How do you balance making a satisfying meal after a good workout? Share your thoughts, but first: try this recipe and grill some Fresh Chicken Sausage to go with it…Thanks Bernard

 Whole Wheat Pasta with Fresh Vegetables, Basil and Extra virgin Olive Oil                    Serves 4

Ingredients

  8 oz. Whole Wheat linguini

1 ea. medium Yellow squash, sliced julienne

1 ea. medium Zucchini, sliced julienne

1/2 cup sliced button Mushroom

1/2 cup Red onion, sliced julienne

1/2 ea. Red Pepper & Yellow Pepper, sliced julienne

2 cup fresh baby Spinach

1 T. fresh Basil, thin sliced

2 T. extra virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to season

Procedure

1. Wash all the vegetables and prepare as suggested
2. In a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil
3. Add the pasta and return to a boil, cook for 6 mins.
4.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the pasta in the boiling water, then add the next 5 ingredients and stir
5. After 1 ½ minutes, reserve ½ cup of liquid, then drain the pasta and vegetable mixture, return to pot
6. Toss with the spinach, basil, ½ cup reserved liquid and 2 tablespoon of olive oil
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot

Serve with Roasted Chicken Breast, Sautéed Salmon or Grilled Chicken / Turkey Sausage

Oscar Nunez (who plays Oscar on The Office) called in today to promote the season finale of The Office tonight at 9PM on 7NBC and The Office Monopoly game.  Before we could talk about this, I had to remind him that back in October of 2008, he said he would send me a pony, get me a role in a movie and get me a role as an extra on The Office.  Needless to say, none of these promises have come true!  (Click Here to listen to the old interview of broken promises)

Oscar Nunez

Oscar had some great excuses for his broken promises and then said he would send me a photo.  I have a feeling I should not hold my breath!  He also talked about the buzz going around regarding the question he asked Miss Oklahoma during the Miss USA Pageant about the Arizona Immigration law.  People are saying his questions cost her from winning the title and he had a great answer for that.  If you missed the question, here is a video clip of it:

Anyway, Oscar is a cool guy and I really love The Office. I don’t feel that I share my feelings about that enough. I actually prefer to think of the characters as real people and hope to one day, work with them selling paper.  Until then, I guess I have to settle for watching it on TV and playing The Office Monopoly game!  If you want to check the game out, click on the picture of it below and it will take you to the site you can pre-order it.

Click Here to listen to my new interview with Oscar

Oh, and if you haven’t seen the new Proactiv commercial I was telling Oscar about with Jenna Fischer (she plays Pam on the show in case you have been asleep for the past 5 years), you can check it out below.

Here is a little treat for you kids. For some reason, the web guy here loves tossing me and my shiny melon in front of the video camera to do this little feature we call “Random Music Notes”. The new one is about Miami Vice and I thought I would be nice enough to post it below for your viewing pleasure or to just crack jokes about my awesome hand moves during the transitions. The heat from the lights make me do stupid things I guess.

And why do my shoulders have the angle of an upside down “U”? Who edits these things? I hate the tricks they use in post production! Especially the “add some weight to him” effect! Anyway, enjoy my little piece about Miami Vice.

Leigh Anne Tuohy called in this morning to promote her family appearing on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” this Sunday night (5/16) at 8PM.  If you have seen the movie “The Blind Side” then you know Leigh Anne is the character that Sandra Bullock played in the movie.  If you haven’t seen this movie yet, it is a MUST SEE!  It’s a great movie to watch alone or with the family.

I want to apologize to the MIKE-FM listeners who posted questions for me to ask Leigh Anne on our Facebook Fan Page, but when I logged in to copy them, Facebook was having some issues and I couldn’t see them.  So, I filled in for you and asked her a few of my own “hard hitting” questions including if she will buy me a Popeye’s Chicken franchise.  I figured that they love to help people so much that why not me?  I would be the best Popeye’s Chicken owner in the world!  And since Leigh Anne and her husband own about 78 Taco Bells, they must have some spare change they can let me have to get this off the ground!

The Tuohy Family with Michael at the NFL Draft

I also chose not to ask her any questions about Sandra Bullock.  The way I see it, Leigh Anne and her family have done some great things and they should be able to get the credit they deserve without being asked questions about things they are not involved in.  Plus, is there really anything else that she could add to this that she hasn’t been asked already or that you haven’t heard or seen in the tabloids and sites like TMZ?

Sometimes people obsess over the gossip and in this case, the Tuohy family just doesn’t have anything to add.  It isn’t like Leigh Anne and Sandra are talking everyday and are BFF’s.  Sandra played Leigh Anne in a movie.  Leigh Anne in real life has an amazing story and continues to do so much for people that I felt this should be about her, her family and what they are doing.  Oh, and like I said, trying to get me a Popeye’s franchise!  I only had 8 minutes with her so I had to make the most of it and my franchise was really key!

Leigh Anne Tuohy

Honestly though, I really enjoyed talking with her and think that we can all learn a little from what her family has done for others and continues to do.  So with that, here is a link to the interview: http://www2.937mikefm.com/listen/leigh-anne-tuohy-blindside

An Oklahoma 6th grader has become an Internet sensation after a video of him performing Lady Gaga’s hit Paparazzi at his schools talent show started circulating on the web. Greyson Chance posted the video on his YouTube page and quickly surpassed 8 million hits while also catching the attention of the producers of the Ellen DeGeneres show who immediately booked him for an appearance.

Check out the clips below of his original performance at school and below that, his appearance & performance on the Ellen DeGeneres show where Lady Gaga calls in to surprise him!