TGIF 8-8-08

Thanks again for rolling with Wheelz 100.5 and starting your morning off with Carolina Country Cruizin' with Matt and Dee. Make sure to join us on Monday morning when we do it all over again. You'll be getting your week off with fun and winning! Just in case you missed part of the show this morning these are some things Matt and I chatted about:


An English grandfather that had been in a coma for 10 weeks woke up when his wife played his favorite song – The Rolling Stones’ “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” Eva Carter admitted she was hesitant when doctors suggested playing music for her husband as he lay unconscious after an attack of anemia. But she decided to give it a try. Her husband, Sam, 60, wants to thank Mick Jagger and the other Stones. He said the first thing he remembers is hearing the guitar riffs from the beginning of the song. “I suddenly had a burst of energy and knew I had a lot more life left in me and that’s when I woke up – to the sound of the first song I ever bought,” Sam said.


Firefighters in New Hampshire call a recent stop at a residential daycare center highly unusual after they had to remove a toilet from the head of a child. The child-sized seat was stuck on a little girl and various attempts at removing it didn't work. Portsmouth rescue workers say it was on her "like a necklace" and putting petroleum jelly on it didn't even help loosen the grip. They did eventually remove it and point out there were no tears from the girl until the ordeal was over.



You'll be seeing more weddings than usual in Las Vegas today. Hundreds of couples are expected to tie the knot on "triple eight day." August 8th, 2008 is considered not only lucky, but a symbol of prosperity in Asian cultures. On Wednesday, at least 400 couples picked up licenses at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, and officials expected yesterday to be even busier. This year, instead of having brides and grooms wait outside the license office in triple-digit heat, couples got express passes that allowed them to return to the bureau and get their license later in the day. Meanwhile, Sin City chapel owners expect to have their hands full with multiple ceremonies. A spokeswoman for Caesars Palace expects today to be the biggest wedding day of the year, even surpassing Valentine's Day.



Remember how lucky the number 7 was last year? Well this year, 8 is the new 7. Thousands of couples decided to tie the knot on 7/7/07, and this year many couples are getting married on 8/8/08. Eight is a special number in many cultures, none more so than the Chinese. Eight is a homonym of the Mandarin word for prosperity. And as thousands of fortune-seekers prepare for the Beijing Olympics’ 8:08 p.m. start time today, 8/8/08, others around the globe – Chinese and non-Chinese – prepare for a different kind of special event – their weddings. San Francisco officials said wedding reservations for today filled up minutes after they were made available due to the date – 08/08/08. The city clerk’s office said they tripled their current capacity and are doing 128 weddings today. Other neat special 8s:
· There are 8 furlongs in a mile.
· Spiders and arachnids have 8 legs, and an octopus has 8 tentacles.
· Hanukkah lasts for 8 days in the Jewish religion.
· The Beatles had a No. 1 single titled “Eight Days A Week.”
· The symbol for infinity is a figure of 8, rotated 90 degrees.
· The figure 8 is often referred to in ice skating.
· 8 is the atomic number for Oxygen(O) on the periodic table.
And it used to be Jr. Number now it’s 2 of those 88’s



A West Virginia mother is seeking a recall of a popular walkie-talkie after her 3-year-old son’s toy apparently picked up some profanity-laced conversation between truckers about drugs and strip clubs. Deborah Pancaro said she called Fisher-Price after she heard a conversation in which a man said “10-4” and other things that led her to believe the radio was relaying a CB conversation. The walkie-talkie is supposed to have a range of about 20 feet, but Pancaro said she heard one of the voices say he was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about 275 miles north of her home in Huntington, West Virginia. While the radios have not be recalled, Wal-Mart said it is discontinuing the
walkie-talkies.



TripAdvisor has announced the top 10 aquariums and zoos in the U.S., according to traveler popularity and TripAdvisor editors:
Top 10 U.S. Aquariums:
1. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
2. Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tennessee
3. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California
4. Ripley’s Aquarium, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
5. Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon
6. Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas, Texas
7. National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Dubuque, Iowa
8. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois
9. Downtown Aquarium, Denver, Colorado
10. Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Florida

Top 10 U.S. Zoos:
1. Memphis Zoo, Memphis, Tennessee
2. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
3. St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri
4. Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska
5. San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California
6. San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, Escondido, California
7. Miami Metrozoo, Miami, Florida
8. Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, Indiana
9. Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, Washington
10. Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park, West Palm Beach, Florida


A Lake Worth, Florida woman balanced her three-year-old granddaughter on the roof of her car before driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store on Tuesday, Monroe County authorities said. Brenda Bouschet, 54, was arrested on a child abuse charge after worried onlookers called deputies to the Publix shopping center. According to a statement circulated by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, "Bouschet told deputies she didn't understand why she was wrong to place the three-year-old girl on the roof of the car and drive her white 2006 Lexus around the parking lot. She said she was just giving the child some air and letting her have fun." Bouschet was taken to the Monroe County jail. The little girl was returned to her mother



Nicole Kidman has asked the media to back off while she and husband Keith Urban show their baby daughter around Sydney, Australia. Kidman gave birth to Sunday Rose, her first child with Urban, last month in Nashville. The actress told a local radio show she and Urban wanted some space “so we can walk around Sydney and show the baby our town.” Urban also requested that paparazzi refrain from getting right in their faces, “because it’s scary” for the newborn. Urban also said that he and his wife have no plans to sell photos of their baby and his wife have no plans to sell photos of their baby.


Jake Owen was named an "up and coming artist" on Nashville Life's Hot List, in the magazine's August issue.


Mary Chapin Carpenter has set a September 30th release date for her first holiday album, “Come Darkness, Come Light.” The set features 12 tracks, including a host of originals co-written with producer John Jennings.When



Toby Keith was working on the concept of his film, Beer for My Horses, movie honchos suggested that it should be an action picture, with Toby playing a dark, dangerous character. But Toby had a different idea for the direction of the movie based on some advice from Burt Reynolds. Toby says that Burt told him "there's a lot of money to made and a lot of headway to be gained by being charming and dangerous. And he said I was never very dangerous, but I was always very charming. If you have the ability to do both, you should use that in your pursuit of this challenge you're doing." So Toby wrote his character "Rack Racklin" as a charmer who can get mean when crossed. The movie, which is a nod to the old Smokey and the Bandit movies, opens in theaters today.-----



Birthday wishes go out to Mel Tillis, who turns 76 today. The country legend has befriended so many of his peers that most everyone has a "Mel" story. Kenny Rogers tells us, "He had a television show he used to do in Florida. And we used to go down there, and he and I tried to sing 'Ruby' at the same time one time. You talk about a train wreck... We kept trying and kept trying and we just started laughing. But there was something really cool about that." Mel continues to perform across the country and makes regular appearances in Branson, Missouri.
The video for George Strait's latest single, "Troubadour," will have its world premiere on G-A-C's Top 20 Countdown tonight (Friday) at 8 p-m [ET]. The clip, which George shot in near his home in San Antonio, captures the autobiographical nature of the song by using a mixture of old photos and new footage.



Jewel and her longtime beau, bull-rider Ty Murray, reportedly have tied the knot. According to the gossip website PerezHilton-dot-com, the couple wed last night (Thursday) in a small and intimate ceremony on a beach in the Bahamas. Hilton quotes an unnamed source saying, "Jewel is thrilled. It was so romantic. They can't be happier!" –



James Otto joins Food Network chef Michael Symon on the challenging Dinner: Impossible August 27th at 10:00 p-m [ET]. Charlie Daniels delivers Michael's challenge, which involves making dishes inspired by classic country songs for three-hundred fans and musicians before time runs out. James will assist Michael in the kitchen as a sous chef, while all dishes must be approved by Charlie before they can be given to the audience.



It took Keith Anderson eight long years to land a record deal, so you can bet that he treats his job with the respect it deserves. He tells the Dallas News, "I'm in the music industry -- a singer-songwriter -- but it's a business. It's not a party. I'm going to approach it like the people I've studied, my heroes, and that would be Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney. They go out and do radio promotion. They tour hard and they promote hard." In the years before making records, Keith worked to make ends but never lost sight of his dream. He told us, "(I) found way to make pretty good money part time so I could be flexible to write and sing. So, being creative and working hard and not giving up." Keith just released his sophomore C-D, C'mon.



Rodney Dangerfield’s widow Joan has been awarded the rights to the comedian’s famous act, after a dispute with his daughter from another relationship ended up in court. Joan filed a lawsuit against Melanie Roy-Friedman in 2006, after she attempted to release a DVD featuring a 1988 Dangerfield performance in Las Vegas. A judge ruled in Joan’s favor, though the amount of the settlement was not disclosed.



New "Captain Kirk" Chris Pine admits he's no fan of old "Kirk" William Shatner. Pine, who takes the lead in the film that opens next summer, tells us, "Although I wasn't a huge fan of the series growing up, I obviously watched it and knew about it. But I think the movie that [producer] J-J [Abrams] wrote and then I got a chance to participate in is really fantastic. People will be surprised by how good it is. It's pretty spine tingly."


Police say a 55-year-old man tossed a computer monitor through a glass door after being refused a refund at a Casper, Wyoming, movie theater. The man said the employees at the Eastridge Mall’s theater refused to give him his money back after something went wrong with the movie projector when he was watching “Iron Man” on Tuesday, offering him a rain check to see another movie instead. Witnesses said the man started yelling and ripped the computer monitor from the ticket counter and threw it through a glass door. Damage was estimated at $1,250. The man faces charges of felony property damage and disturbing the peace.



Relatives of a paralyzed illegal immigrant charged with armed robbery in Ohio wheeled him away from a nursing home. Rogelio Santana, 27, was originally held under guard at a Cincinnati-area nursing home. But prosecutors, believing the man wasn’t an escape risk, asked a judge to release him on bond because budget cuts had made stationing deputies at the nursing home difficult. Santana’s lawyer said that he went to the Greystone Communities nursing home Tuesday and discovered his client had been gone for two weeks. “I have no idea where he is,” David Washington Jr. said. “If you were being held and were facing over 100 years, what would you do?” Santana was paralyzed when he was shot as he tried to hold up a store in November.



Life could be turning around for one Florida man. According to the "South Florida Sun-Sentinel," 61-year-old Ronnie Novack was recently awarded a 100-thousand-dollar inheritance from his mother's estate. The money is significant because Novack has been homeless for some time. He admitted he's spent most of his nights sleeping in the woods. Novack's attorney began searching for the homeless man recently after learning Novack was eligible for the inheritance. The lawyer went so far as to offer a reward for anyone able to locate Novack, who was found when he showed up for a doctor's appointment yesterday morning. Novack hasn't said what he plans to do with the windfall, but noted, quote, "we're all very happy."



Here's is a great argument for those who believe that some people were destined to be together. According to the "Daily Telegraph," a British couple with a special connection is getting set to tie the knot this weekend. Dale Wilson and Kelly Robinson were born in the same hospital 22 years ago, and their mothers recovered in beds that were next to each other. They each lived separate lives, but met up again in 2006. The two mothers later realized the connection. Kelly says of her relationship with Dale, quote, "It felt like we'd known each other forever." The pair's wedding will take place tomorrow in Kingsthorpe, England, and then they'll head off for a honeymoon on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.



Police in Alexandria, Louisiana, say an argument between a man and a woman over whether a third guest should stay in the house got so heated that the woman picked up a barbecue grill and hit the man over the head with it. The man then grabbed the grill and did the same thing to the woman. The woman told police that she then picked it up and hit the back window of the man’s car with the grill. Both the man and the woman were taken to jail.


A 6-foot-tall, 250-pound letter carrier wants the U.S. Postal Service to add kilts as a uniform option for men. With his build, Dean Peterson said his thighs rubbing against his slacks causes chafing. The kilt idea was soundly defeated in July at a convention of his union, the 220,000-member National Letter Carriers’ Association. Peterson knows convincing management will be an uphill struggle, but it will be worth it if he can be comfortable in his kilt.



Well, it is official the weekend has begun! Thanks for hanging out with me and Matt for Carolina Country Cruizin'! Join us on Monday when we do it all again. Don't forget you can see the Funniest man in America on Saturday at the Florence Civic Center. I'll be there so stop by and say HI~! Until Monday Keep it rolling with Wheelz 100.5!




*Information from Premiere, Jones and Metro Networks*