Tuesday's Media Mix (Grow a Garden with Your iPhone, "Glee" is Back, Cat Awarded for Warning)

Video Clip of the Day: Slide, slide slippity slide

How Does Your Garden Grow?: 10 Great iPhone Apps for Growing a Garden

Ready to Sing: "Glee" Returns as a Cult and Musical Success

Paw Warning: Cat Awarded For Using Paw To Warn Of Gas Leak

In Case You Missed It (April 12)

I didn't know there were so many ways to say "nuclear." There's the normal saying. There's the George W. Bush saying (nuh-clur). And there's the FOX News saying (new-ah-clear). Nevertheless, today's national news was all about President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. And I have to report on the Oprah/John Tesh rumors and Conan O'Brien landing on TBS. Oh, and the Dow Jones is back above 11,000!



Stocks Soar: Dow Ends Above 11,000 for 1st Time in 18 Months

Nuclear Negotiations: Obama, Chinese leader discuss possible Iran sanctions

What Went Wrong: At the Mine, Search for Answers Begins

Supreme Speculation: Names added to Supreme Court short list

No Foul: No Assault Charges for Roethlisberger

Define Normal: ‘Next to Normal’ wins Pulitzer Prize for drama

Romance Revealed: John Tesh Confirms Romance with Oprah

Home Sweet Home: Conan O'Brien to make TBS his new late-night home

Skydivers Soar: Body Flight World Challenge in Bedford

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Monday's Media Mix (Facebook Dating Disasters, Cow Rescued from Drain & Conan on MyNetwork TV?)

Video Clip of the Day: Kelsey just can't seem to dunk

Dating Disaster: 5 ways Facebook changed dating (for the worse)

Rescue Rangers: Cow rescued from storm drain

Bye Bye Fox?: Why you may see Conan O'Brien on MyNetwork TV

Downtown Alive with Live After Five

There are a lot of great things about Baton Rouge. We have amazing food, a diverse culture and we sure know how to party better than anyone around. But when you take all that, ball it up and mix in eclectic music … you get the best free party east of the Mississippi … Live After Five.

Live After Five is one of my favorite things to do in Downtown Baton Rouge. And when you kick off the season with a band like MoJEAUX, there are high hopes for Friday nights!

MoJEAUX is gaining a bit of a cult following. Besides playing weddings, they perform at area festivals and local bars. The group is truly something to see. They can go from playing the “Bunny Hop,” to “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” They give a little soul with “Proud Mary,” then switch it up with a little “Chicken Fried” or “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

The band utilizes every single member of the band, and it pays off because it keeps you jumping and jiving all night long. This is the second time they have opened up the Live After Five concert series, and the Downtown Business Association is smart to keep them coming back.

While I could hear MoJEAUX every week, there are plenty of great concerts coming to Galvez Plaza over the next few weeks. And remember, it’s fun, free and there’s plenty of room. See you out on the Plaza (and out on Third St. after the bands)!

April 16 – Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., and the Zydeco Twisters
April 23 – Baton Rouge All Star Blues Jam (BR Blues Week)
April 30 – Allison Collins Band (also my Birthday)
May 7 – Bench Bar Boogie Band
May 14 – Chasing Scarlett
May 21 – Carbon Copy Band

I'm Back! But Where Have I Been?

It feels like it’s been months since I’ve blogged. It’s only been two weeks, but boy have I missed it.

I’ve received a ton of e-mails, tweets and Facebook messages about my brief absence. A lot of you wondering where I went. This blog is fairly new (taking the place of my previous blog). It actually felt great to know so many people look forward to my postings, thoughts and stories.

I kept mum on why I stepped away from Media Mix. I honestly just needed a break and couldn’t keep up. My grandfather was in the hospital over Easter, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. It sucked seeing him in the hospital, partly because he’s always such a strong person. Seeing him so weak and fragile is not an easy thing to deal with.

Thanks to some great friends, more prayers than I can count and his willingness to get back to his garden, he’s now home from the hospital. While that obstacle is over, we are still waiting to find out why he got so sick in the first place. We know he had bronchitis and that put a terrible strain on his lungs. But with PawPaw Sonny, it’s always a domino effect. What affects his lungs, affects his heart. And simply biology will tell you that when your heart hurts, you hurt. On top of the bronchitis, his blood level was critically low.

We’re waiting on the results of a bone marrow exam. That’ll tell us why he’s losing blood. I ask (whatever your religious affiliation) to pray and keep him in your thoughts. It hasn’t been a year since we lost PawPaw Brown, and I know PawPaw Sonny has a lot more years left in him!

You’ll start seeing my normal postings again: the daily Media Mix, the nightly In Case You Missed It and my random ramblings. I’ve been working on a few things during my hiatus that’ll be posted over the next few days as well.

Enjoy … and as always … let me know what you think!

There Ain't No 'Lion' ... It's April Fool's!