The Kid with A lot to Say

Has anybody seen Paul Cicala in the studio at KVIA? This guy has a real good sense of humor. He loves to wear athletic shorts with sport coat jackets. IF you watch KVIA on the weekends, you will notice his bare knee on the far right of your TV screen. I think I might go to my next meeting in shorts and a dress shirt. Peace!

I decided to give the site a new look. I think it is easier to read and navigate. Peace!

Miles behind the wheel of his Ferrari 365.

When people think of Miles Davis, they usually think of Jazz music and smoke filled jazz clubs. People never think of classic Ferrari automobiles. Miles Davis loved Italian cars. He really did! I read a few stories about how he received many speeding tickets in New York. Not only could the man play a trumpet, but he could also drive a Ferrari like nobody's business. He was a talented man. Peace

Does anybody read El Paso magazine? All I want to say is that the best of lists are funny as hell. Avila's for best Mexican food? Marissa Monroy for hottest anchor/reporter? Cattleman's for best steak? Best Italian food goes to Cappetto's? These are some horrible choices. Adrienne Alvarez should have received a nomination for most attractive anchor. I also would have nominated Nichole Gomez for hottest anchor. Ben Swann for hottest male anchor? Are you serious! As far as Mexican food is concerned, the best restaurant category should go to Su Casa. Sometimes I think that the votes that the public cast are not taken into consideration. Does anybody remember the lists from previous years? Celina Avila was voted as hottest anchor three years in a row. I think Keith Mahar was responsible for Celina Avila being voted for three years in a row. (Keith and Celina were an item)

I guess what I am trying to say is that the public vote does not matter at all. Everything is done without public input. So do not waste your time voting online or by mail. Best of lists are bullsh*t and that is that. Peace!

News reporters are using a new tool in the field. It is the Blackberry! In all honesty, a big cell device in hand is very distracting. It is more distracting than a piece of paper. If Walter Cronkite was still alive, he would probably shove a Blackberry up a fresh reporter's ass! Can someone please tell me as to why they are being used? Thanks!

This post was originally written in 2008. It was written around the time when KVIA decided to remove Marissa from her anchor position.


When Marissa Monroy started working for KVIA in the summer of 2008, I did not know what to say. I was puzzled as to why she was always smiling. It seemed as if every minute she was smiling. Even during serious stories, she had a huge smile on her face. I thought to myself, does she also smile during funerals and car accidents? Anyways, Marissa was given the midday anchor position. After a few weeks to a month, she was dropped from the midday show. She was then given the weekend anchor position. KVIA then decided to remove her from the weekend show. When all of this happened, I became very upset with KVIA.

Why KVIA you ask? From what I have gathered, Marissa does not have any anchor experience. She does have experience with writing and reporting for PopandPolitics.com. I guess somebody at KVIA thought that she would make a great anchor because Marissa has a Master's degree and writing experience. What KVIA should have done from the start was give Marissa a reporter position, instead of embarrassing her in front of the viewers. It is like giving me a Ferrari and allowing me to drive it, and then someone takes it away from me and gives me a Nissan Altima. That is what they did to Marissa Monroy. They made her an anchor and then they dropped her and made her a street reporter. After her debut, someone at KVIA should have pulled her aside and told her what she was doing wrong. I am more than sure that Marissa really wanted to be an anchor and not a street reporter.

Update:Aug 2009
Marissa filled in for Celina Avila last week. I have to admit that she has improved since 2008. Keep on working on your screen presence. Peace!

1987 Lionel Playworld Commercial.

Does anybody remember Lionel Playworld? I sure do! They had more inventory than Toys R Us. I was fortunate enough to visit Lionel Playworld in the 1980s and 1990s. Thinking back almost 22 years, it was the best toy store in the U.S. It was in the summer of 1987 that my Mother and I visited the Lionel Playworld located at the Village at Eastpointe on Gateway East. It was the one and only Lionel Playworld in El Paso. I could not believe the size of the store. Any toy that your heart desired was available at Lionel Playworld. There were many isles full of toys for children of every age. Lionel Playworld continued to operate into the 1990's.


It was around late 1991 that Lionel filed for bankruptcy. When that happened, Lionel decided to have all of their stores merchandise liquidated. The one and only Lionel in El Paso started liquidating their merchandise around September or October of 1991. When that happened, I bugged my mother to drive me to Lionel immediately. I ended up buying a lot of baseball cards and toy cars. Surprisingly Lionel had a large selection of sports cards and sports memorabilia. If I can remember correctly, the sports related merchandise was located across from the main entrance. Eventually Lionel Playworld closed around November or December of 1991. Other store locations in the U.S. closed around the same time. The Lionel Playworld location remained vacant until 1995. In 1995 it was turned into a twelve screen one dollar movie theater. So can a toy store like Lionel Playworld succeed in 2009? I seriously doubt it. Toys R Us is almost as large as Lionel was. They are struggling to stay open in 2009. With online retailers like Amazon and Overstock, there is no need for large toy stores anymore.