Joel Keller Freelance Writer

Hot off the Internet presses…

About a month ago, I went to Rhode Island and spent a weekend eating diner food. Yes, I know, tough life. But it was research for a New York Times Escapes article on diners around the state and a diner exhibit at Johnson & Wales University's culinary museum.

The article came out today, just click on this link and you'll be taken right to it. Enjoy!

Imus is gone and I don’t care

Actually, I do, but not because I'm going to miss Imus; I'm a Howard Stern loyalist, so my opinion is that the I-Man was a crotchety old fart that stole all of Howard's best ideas to re-create a poor man's version the King of All Media's show (can you tell I've sipped from the Stern Kool-Aid? Well, just a little; I don't believe he invented everything, like he claims).

I care because for the next two weeks, WFAN is going to put Mike & The Mad Dog in Imus' vacated slot, then have them do their usual show from 2-6:30 PM. So not only will I be subjected to a tired and bleary Francesa and Russo in the afternoon for two weeks, there's a distinct possibility that one or both of them might move to the morning permanently, according to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News.

Ugh. Although I do get sick of the two of them from time to time -- Mike's pomposity and disdain for the callers, Chris's tendency to mispronounce even the simplest names, both guys' ability to talk like experts about sports they never watch -- nothing is more entertaining to me in the afternoon, especially now that I work from home full-time. When I get back from lunch, I switch on YES and have Mike and Chris on in the background while I go about my day. It chews up the entire afternoon and helps keep me from being distracted by boring TV or a set of CDs I don't want to listen to. And if I get stuck in my writing, I just watch them not look at each other for a while; that usually gets my head straight so I can get back to work.

If Mike and/or Dog move to mornings, that'll end. Neither is as good by themselves as they are together, and if it's the morning, they will come in third behind Howard's Sirius show and the Today show. Let's hope WFAN realizes what a afternoon franchise they have and keep the boys in the PM. There are plenty of options for the morning. I mean, isn't CBS Radio still paying David Lee Roth for his two months on Free FM?