Bill O'Mara: 1917-2009

My dear friend, Bill O'Mara, passed away early Saturday morning at the age of 92 of complications from pneumonia. Bill was best known for his time as sports director at KING-TV in Seattle, where he was the on-air voice and face of the Seattle hydroplane races. During my time at KLKI Radio, Bill was the station's sports director, and among the closest co-workers I have ever had the opportunity to have.

I knew Mr. O'Mara for over 12 years. He always called me "kid", which made me smile each time. He put 110% into each on-air appearance, be it a 2 minute sports update or play-by-play for a high school basketball game. He instilled in his co-workers a desire to be fastidious in preparation. Good Lord willing, if I ever make it to such an advanced age, and I'm asked who influenced me as a broadcaster, Mr. O'Mara will be at the top of the list.

Thank you, Bill, for years of friendship, mentoring, and so much more. You will be missed, my friend.

At Bill's request the family says there is no service planned.

Bill requested any memorial donations be made to:

Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum

5917 South 196th St.

Kent, WA 98032

One Last Ranma Video

It's been many months since our girl, Ranma, passed away suddenly. I've been able now to put together a small "tribute" vid. Check it out, and comment if you want to.

New Agility Video - Baron at the 2009 Chuckanut Dog Show

New Agility Video - Baron At the Kennewick Dog Show

Snow Storm At The Pass

Following a great weekend of dog agility and visiting my in-laws, Tracy, Baron, and I made the slog back home yesterday from Kennewick (in SE Washington) to Anacortes (in NW Washington). Heading out from Kennewick, we were hit with a dust storm the likes of which wasn't seen in many a year.



After a brief stop in Ellensburg for lunch (SuperMother burgers at the TAV!), we hit the road again, only to be advised via the radio that there was a lot of snow in Snoqualmie Pass. It didn't take long for us to get stuck in a big snow storm.
As the afternoon wore on, the weather got progressively worse.
By the time we got to the top of the pass, though, the weather began clearing. I was able to get a couple of shots at the top of the pass, though, that showed the storm's effects.

Guess Who Saw "Watchmen" Over the Weekend?

Yup, it was me! Watchmen was awesome!

For those unfamiliar with the Watchmen movie (and who are considering forking out the cash to see it), it's based on a graphic novel (not a comic book) published by DC Comics, and is primarily about the investigation into the death of a costumed crime fighter called The Comedian, a morally-ambivalent, gun-toting psychopath. Other costumed heroes come out of retirement to find out who killed him, and a conspiracy is revealed (I won't say more about the plot, as it may spoil the fun).

The movie was great fun to watch, but I would caution anyone against bringing kids to see it.
"Mom! Dad! I wanna watch the new superhero comic book film!"
(insert game show buzzer sound here) Guess again - kids shouldn't see this one, and don't let your wee ones try to convince you otherwise. In short, here's why.

Loads of profanity.
Graphic depictions of sex.
A ton of graphic violence (one scene, for example, is of one of the "heroes" repeatedly taking to a suspected child-killer's skull with a butcher's cleaver).
And, of course, there's Dr. Manhattan, whom I like to call GlowingNakedBlueGuy.

He's a cool, super-powered anti-hero who is pivotal to the story, but bear in mind before you take the kids to see the movie, he is naked throughout the film. Very naked.

All elements to make a great movie for adults, but not for the kids, I think. Check it out - it's in theaters right now.

Hey! Check this out!

I put a lot of work into the items on my "News of the Weird" blog, and I hope that you will give it a visit. There's some pretty funny stuff in there, from odd news stories across the globe...

News of the Weird Archive