Jeff Lamb is bringing the party to Saturday nights with his self-produced “The Man Cave with Jeff Lamb” on 104.7 WIOT, more than 15 years after his morning show last aired on the station.
“It’s good to be back at WIOT,” Lamb said. “They’re the biggest signal in town and a great station with a great reputation. They were my first live radio show.”
Lamb purchased the Saturday 9 p.m. to midnight block from WIOT, replacing “House of Hair,” and he is selling the ad space himself. The 13-week agreement began with his first show Nov. 5. He holds a party every Saturday with approximately 25 guests and broadcasts live from his “Man Cave,” which includes a big-screen TV, a keg of beer, snacks and plenty of seating.

Jeff Lamb

“I called WIOT and told them my idea, which was to buy the time for a lot more than they were making on a Saturday night and I would sell it myself,” Lamb said. “They thought it was great. Hopefully we can make a dent and they’ll keep me around. We’ll look at it in 13 weeks and hopefully we’ll pick it up again and keep going. It’s a lot of fun to be back in radio and doing something nobody else is doing.”
New territory
Lamb is optimistic about the show’s chances, although he admits sales are not his area of expertise.
“I’ve called people that I either knew or that were sponsors of my shows before,” he said. “I don’t really have to explain myself to them. They know what it is I do. I’m trying to limit the spots so it’s not a bunch of commercials with a song in the middle.”
One goal is to emphasize local content, including featuring a local band each week. The show also aims to provide original content such as sketches.
“At 53 years old, I’ve put all my eggs in the radio basket and radio changed on me,” Lamb said. “It isn’t radio’s fault or my fault. It’s just where I am. If you’re going to compete against iPods and the ability to burn CDs, you better give more than just music. They can do that without you. What I’m doing is what we need more of. We’ll find out if I’m right. I could be totally wrong. If that’s the case, I’ll walk away from it and at least I’ll know. I expect people appreciate content.”
Lamb had to adjust to hosting the show and doing sketches solo since his former partner Mark Benson is engaged in other projects.
“I decided if Mark’s not available then I wouldn’t even consider another partner,” he said. “Mark and I are hand and glove in this town. I worked with other people in Peoria, and it just wasn’t the same. Not everybody wants to suspend belief and play along with characters. The first radio partner I had in Peoria thought it was stupid. He just didn’t get it. If you play along, it works. But it doesn’t work if everybody is not on board. I wish I had Mark here.
“We had a lot of fun together and we learned a lot together. Everything we learned, it seems like they’re doing it different now. I still believe there is room for that kind of radio.”
Radio since birth
Radio has been part of Lamb’s life since birth, and he knew early on it was what he wanted to do. According to Lamb, his father was in radio in Flint, Mich., and his sister made a record when she was 5-years-old that sold a million copies. Lamb also has one brother in television and another who has been in and out of radio with him and helped him run an ad agency in Flint.
“My dad was the first person in the country to broadcast from home,” Lamb said. “When I grew up, there was always a studio in the basement. He had his on-air studio and his recording studio down there. We always had bands over recording stuff. He was recording records for people. He had a jingle company. We moved out to Grand Blanc [Mich.,] and he put in a nicer studio. All the ad agencies were using him. I was doing ‘Buffalo Dick’ out of there and he was doing his radio show. It was almost around the clock, something going on.”
He first came to Toledo in 1990 after “Buffalo Dick” was canceled.
“It was kind of like ‘Howdy Doody’ on steroids,” Lamb said. “For the time, it was a little edgy. When ‘Buffalo Dick’ got canceled, I was bummed. I was disillusioned about whether to get out of it. In 1989, Pete Cavanaugh, the general manager at WIOT, called me and asked if I’d be interested in doing a morning show down here. I came down to meet everybody and he hired me right then. He envisioned all these characters working with the morning show. God bless him for that, because it sure put us in a good place.”
Later, Lamb took a job with 94.5 WXKR and came back to WIOT before moving to Peoria, Ill., in 1996 to host a TV show. He came back to WXKR from 1998-2002 before he was let go due to budget cuts. He performed odd jobs such as a DJing at clubs until starting the new show.
Back in the groove
“It isn’t really a great bucket list item for a 53-year-old man to be hosting trivia and karaoke for your living,” Lamb said.
After nine years off the air, Lamb is starting to get back into the groove of radio.
“It’s a little bit nerve-racking,” Lamb said. “I’ve been out of it for a while, and I was never really a board operator. Mark would run the board, and I just did voices and characters. It’s kind of coming back to me. One night I woke up at 2 a.m. and was done sleeping. I have no real schedule now. By noon I had five bits written and recorded.”
Those bits include characters such as Principal Prickley, Gus “Booty-Kicker” Washington Lincoln Carver Brown, Mr. Know-it-all, Jack Hammer and Phillip the Magnificent. Phillip is a take on Dustin Hoffman’s character from the movie “Rain Man.”
“We ran him for governor, and we got a cease and desist from MGM,” Lamb said. “They told us we couldn’t do it anymore, so we just changed his name to Phillip. That cracked me up. I just changed the names, and everyone knew who it was. They couldn’t stop me from using the voice. They couldn’t stop the content. All they could do is change the name.”
“The Man Cave with Jeff Lamb” airs Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to midnight. Any bands interested in being featured can contact Lamb through his website at JeffLamb.com.

It is my understanding that the Duggar family of TLC fame is poised to welcome a 20th child. I mainly know this from the public shock and horror over the announcement. From what I gather from the reaction, the general public has declared that the mother, Michelle Duggar, is too old to have another baby, has too many kids already, makes the older kids take care of the younger kids and, in short, should be sterilized.
I admit that it is no doubt surprising to hear of a family having 20 children, especially in a country that is barely clinging to its replacement birth rate, but of all the things I’ve heard in the news the past year, or even the past couple of weeks, news of a pregnancy is hardly among the most heinous. As far as I can tell, the Duggars have the financial means to support their children, attend to their children’s needs and raise them to be responsible citizens. I’m just not sure that loving, cohesive families are the kind of thing we should be spending our time condemning, no matter how big they are or how different they are from our own.

As we enter the American holiday season, I am also about to suggest that we consider re-nicknaming it The Season of Giving Unsolicited Opinions. Not a day seems to go by that I don’t hear a declaration that the Christmas season has opened for business too soon, infringing greatly upon the lives of many. Apparently, the stores have prematurely decked their halls, the radio stations have unseasonably started playing Christmas music and our friends and neighbors have jumped the gun on hanging their Christmas lights and other decorations. It is a travesty that our children just can’t enjoy Thanksgiving unaccompanied like we did when we were kids.
I used to buy into the idea that Christmas was coming earlier every year and shivered at the thought of it along with my fellow traditionalists. However, two things have changed my mind. The first is that I have about 28 million more things to do, items to prepare, events to attend, etc., during the Christmas season than I did as a child, so every extra day that I’m immersed in the spirit before Dec. 25 is actually a tremendous help. The second is that I no longer believe that it’s true. While watching “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” one night, I realized that Charlie and Sally were already bemoaning the Christmas stage being set too soon and interfering with Thanksgiving — in 1973, before I was even born. Good grief.
I will not pretend to be able to proclaim innocence when it comes to quick, harsh or petty judgment. For example, although I rarely admit it and usually only to the closest of friends, I don’t quite understand exercise equipment.
When there are windows to be washed, yards to be tended, dogs and children to be walked, walls to be painted and furniture to be moved, it seems odd to me that our modern go-to physical activity involves driving down the street to pay for exercise that involves moving in place with a room full of strangers.
My aversion goes beyond just exercise equipment. While I understand running to the store or a friend’s house, or even around the block a few times for the health benefits, running 26.2 miles just to see how quickly you can do so doesn’t make much sense to me. Still, it doesn’t irk me to see exercise equipment sold in just about every store or a gym on every other corner. Some people — many, many people — love and even live for such things. Yet, if they can have their odd-to-me exercise rituals year-round, why can’t I have a couple of extra weeks of holiday season without public complaint?
Just because I understand running a few miles but not 26.2 doesn’t mean that I should scold those who run that far, chide them for the time spent training and cost involved, complain that their races are tying up traffic or inform them that people sometimes die running marathons. In the same vein, just because we, as a society, understand having two or three children, but not 20, doesn’t mean that no one should be doing so. Yes, I feel like I can barely handle my three little bundles of joy some days, but if someone else can handle 20, more power to her.

Columnist Shannon Szyperski and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

There are still several weeks left in 2011, but it is time to start cataloging some of the accomplishments of the past year.
Despite some hefty surprises and unbelievable setbacks, the 2011 ledger will show a positive and productive year. The personal high — the birth of my daughter Harper — can’t be matched by any professional feta, but it was a great year. In addition to a raft of business milestones and editorial triumphs, I am particularly proud of our philanthropic contributions during the past calendar year.

• Smoke on the Water — Ribs for the Red Cross overcame rain to fill the riverfront with headliners Tonic and John Michael Montgomery.
• We sponsored the “Holiday with Heart” event at the Toledo Club, a sold-out event which benefited AIDS and HIV organizations in the local gay and lesbian community. We are also sponsoring this year’s event, set for Dec. 3.
• Toledo Free Press initiated a private fundraising drive that brought in $12,000 for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City, which nullified a request for the funds from taxpayers.
• “Education Champions,” a news series that highlighted local Toledo Public Schools projects and resulted in a multimedia awareness campaign that culminated in WGTE’s literacy program, First Book, winning a grant from the United Way.
• “Restaurant Week Toledo,” which involved more than 16 restaurants and raised funds for Leadership Toledo’s high school scholarship program. We will launch this again in late January.
• We partnered with and facilitated a Columbia Gas of Ohio program that provided free or reduced-cost programmable thermostats, showerheads and home energy audits.
• The “Egypt Experience” and Artoberfest promotions with the Toledo Museum of Art were highlights of our friendship with the museum.
• We participated in our first Arts Commission Art Walk series, which led to our sponsorship of the “Zygote in My Fez” poetry festival.
• Toledo Free Press co-sponsored a Red Cross program, “Ready U,” a 12-month educational series that offered free sessions on a variety of safety and disaster-preparedness topics. The second “Ready U” series is under way.
• Our  “Round Up Hunger” series focusing on Feed Lucas County Children resulted in a fundraising campaign through Walt Churchill’s Markets.
• We co-sponsored a Banned Books Week awareness series at the University of Toledo to fight censorship. This was our fifth year with the event.
• The Northwest Ohio Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society honored our work at a magnificent event in October.

The Ohio Society for Professional Journalists award for Best Weekly Newspaper in Ohio, our third consecutive such honor, capped our year.
This is not a definitive list, but we are grateful for each and every one of these partnerships and opportunities. We take none of them for granted and hope to expand upon them moving forward.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

It’s that time of year for Toledoans to reflect and give thanks for the special things that happened in 2011. Here is a list of some of the things Toledoans should be thankful for. Toledo:  Chrysler’s expansion of Jeep.

• Mayor Bell:  That the Chinese investors who want to turn Toledo into a tourist attraction have not visited during the winter.
• Toledoans: That Bob Seger remembered where Toledo was … twice.
• Tony Packo Jr. and III and Robin Horvath: For the amount of quality time they spent together this year.
  

• Toledo: For the Toledo Mud Hens’ Joe Napoli and the excellent work he does every day that makes our lives better. His demand for constant quality and understanding of Toledo families give us temporary escape at a reasonable price.
• Former Mayor Jack Ford: For his health and nightly puppet shows.
• Occupy Toledo: For each other
• Michigan Wolverines fans: For tattoo parlors.
• TPD homicide detectives and TFD arson investigators: For overtime.
• Toledo’s wives: For the fire that gutted Platinum Showgirls in August.
• Toledo’s husbands: The arrival of Yuengling Beer and the lack of fire at Deja Vu and Scarlett’s.
• Toledo film fans:  That Katie Holmes’ new movie “Jack and Jill” is only 91 minutes long.
• Women’s NCAA Tournament: For not inviting the UT Lady Rockets.
• Rocket football fans: For Mark Beier’s play by play on 1370 WSPD.  He is the “Voice of the Rockets” for a reason and UT is lucky to have him.
• Detroit Tigers fans: For baseball in October and Cy Young Winner Justin Verlander.
• Local Teachers, TPD and TFD: The Defeat of Issue 2.
• Toledo Free Press: That The Blade takes time to read our paper.
• Andrew Z : For lawyers, second chances and take out.
• Ben Konop: For movers.
• WSPD’s Brian Wilson: For ISDN (technology that allows you to broadcast from abroad)
• 13ABC: For Oprah’s retirement.
• My Mom: For the neighbor who vacated his house but was kind enough to leave his three cars.
• Eastsiders: For Pajama Jeans and Sudafed.

• Toledoans can also be thankful for the complete lack of national attention this year due to scandal.  2011 is almost over and we haven’t had any TV satellite  trucks parked Downtown. No Father Robinson trial, No Noe-Gate and no riots.

I am beyond thankful for the responses I have received since coming aboard here.  I am incredibly humbled that you take the five minutes to read my 700 words or less weekly, and entertain my thoughts.
If you wish to share why and what Toledo should be thankful for, please tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #ToledoIsThankfulFor

Jeremy Baumhower is a self-proclaimed media expert who writes and produces for morning radio shows across the country. For more self-admired brilliance, please follow him on twitter @jeremytheproduc.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about influence. Not power, although the two are certainly difficult to define without each other. Power is intrinsically about balance and inequality. Influence is a much more fluid concept. Power and influence can be used for positive and negative purposes, but influence carries a gentler tone, up to the point where abuse pushes it into power territory.
I recently discussed these ideas via email with Frank A. DiLallo, prevention/intervention schools consultant and Diocesan case manager for the Diocese of Toledo. I have great respect for DiLallo; he has dedicated his life and talents to defusing bullies through such efforts as the Peace Project and Peace2U. Our conversation focused on bullies and power abuse.

MILLER: Bullying can go well beyond physical intimidation. Where does the line of asserting power in an imbalanced situation cross the line into bullying?
DiLALLO: There are many examples of individuals, groups and organizations that have certain power to assert influence over others. This assertion of power can happen in one of two ways; 1) In an altruistic way creating a helpful impact with and for others; or 2) In an egoistic way that can do serious harm, having a damaging impact on others.  An individual, group or organization becomes an aggressor or bully when it intentionally uses its power to physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and/or spiritually oppress or harm the targeted individual, group or organization. The aggression is typically repeated and is an unjust use of power. Wherever there is gain for the aggressor at the expense (physical, mental, emotional, social and/or spiritual loss) of the target, that is considered bullying. An easy acronym to remember is RIP, which stands for Repeated, Intentional and Power-based.
MILLER: Explore the concept of bullying as it is connected to status, and the attempt to maintain and protect that status.
DiLALLO: Personal, organizational or social status holds a certain level of prominence within the culture or social structure in which it lives and/or serves. If this prominence is threatened or encroached upon in any way, altruistically or egoistically it can be perceived as a threat. When threatened, a natural response is to protect our territory, just like any other animal. Bullie,s however, use their power, less to protect and more from a place of entitlement. They aggressively treat their target as “less than.” Power structures are inherently set up to protect self-interest and do not altruistically consider others at all, or at least in a limiting way. If this were not true there would not be any starvation, homelessness, poverty, etc.
MILLER: Bullying is almost always a pattern, a repeated behavior. At what point does the victim need to consider a change in strategy from “turn the other cheek” to seeking protection?
DiLALLO: A hard fact to swallow is that we are all responsible for bullying. Bullying is a dynamic that cannot and does not occur without at least three main characters: bully, target/victim and bystander. If the target continues to respond or not respond them same way to the bully, he/she will remain a part of this mysterious and insidious covert dynamic. In order to get out of the encapsulated triangle, with the bully the target has to engage in more effective strategies that will prevent or protect them from continuing to be a target. Unfortunately, the target is often not able to see alternative strategies because of the enormous power structure created by the bully. One way to illustrate this is if you look at the “Bullying Triangle” as an inverted triangle with the bully and bystanders on the top-heavy side and the target at the point or “brunt.” The waves of bullying make it is very overwhelming for the target. The target is already at a disadvantage in some way because they don’t have equal status or power to the bully and his/her entourage. If they did, they would be less likely to be a target in the first place. The target needs to “move,” or change strategies that level the playing field, causing the bully to lose interest.
MILLER: It seems to me that taking a kid’s lunch money in third grade and using a team of $600/hour lawyers to intimidate is essentially the same behavior.
DiLALLO: We are all still kids, but just in bigger bodies.
MILLER: Why would anyone take satisfaction in bullying? What is the psychological root of that?
DiLALLO: I believe the psychological root of someone taking pleasure in someone’s pain is a way to delude oneself about their own pain. Most bullies have been targeted/victimized by someone. A bully is a person who overidentifies with their aggressor and acts out the mirror reflection of how they were mistreated. We all have a biological need to have the power to influence our environment. When I am rendered helpless or oppressed in one environment there is a deep psychological need to “right the wrong.” Unfortunately, without getting help for my own victimization I attempt to correct what was done to me by doing to others what was done to me, because it’s all I know. This dynamic is what keeps the cycle of abuse and mistreatment going.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Call him at (419) 241-1700, Ext. 223 or email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Michelle Wagner was elected to the sole vacant seat in Toledo Municipal Court on Nov. 8, replacing Judge Francis X. Gorman, who is retiring due to age restrictions.
Wagner, a 44-year-old Democrat, received 34,511 votes in her victory over opponents Mark Davis (16,814) and David Toska (8,824), according to unofficial results.
Her endorsements included Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez, Toledo City Councilman Steve Steel and recent mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski.
“I’m very, very pleased with the results,” Wagner said. “I’m astounded by them. We ran to win, but I didn’t expect to win two-to-one. It’s empowering and humbling at the same time. It was a wonderful night and we are very pleased that the voters thought I was the best candidate. I am very excited to start my new position.”
A few ideas
Wagner was born in Toledo’s Polish Village. She attended St. Ursula Academy, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bowling Green State University and earned a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law. Wagner served as a clerk for Judge Thomas Osowick and was a city prosecutor in Sylvania for 16 years.

Michelle Wagner

Wagner and her husband Dave reside in south Toledo with their sons Samuel, Teddy and John Paul.
She plans to hit the ground running at the start of her first term on Jan. 4. She said she has a few ideas to improve Toledo Municipal Court.
Her first idea comes from Cleveland. While serving on the board of directors for Independent Advocates, she learned that Cleveland has a domestic violence docket in its municipal court. This includes a designated area where domestic violence victims go before the same judge in the same courtroom each visit.
“They have laid the groundwork for how they have it going and have a good model for us to follow,” Wagner said. “The cases have to be heard anyway; why can’t they be heard in the same place? Why can’t they be heard by the same judge as opposed to seven judges? Why can’t a prosecutor be specially trained? I don’t see it as pulling resources in that respect, it’s just consolidating cases into one area, one judge and one prosecutor.”
Another thing Wagner would like to see is an area where victims of domestic violence can wait, which would also feature a children’s area.
“We could have a separate witness room and waiting area for the victim that provides safety and peace where they wait,” Wagner said. “Ideally it would have some small toys and coloring books for a kids’ space. They always know who the prosecutor will be, who the judge will be and that there is a place for children to keep them occupied until the case is called.”
Wagner said she believes that only judges who want to work on domestic violence cases should do so and should be on a rotation of possibly two years for the domestic violence docket, to prevent the nature of the cases from wearing on them.
“That is the main goal of my tenure at Toledo Municipal Court,” Wagner said. “That is something that I hold near and dear to my heart and I would love to get that moving.”
The magistrates
After beginning her first term, Wagner will also look to implement ideas to increase efficiency inside the courthouse. The ways to do that include more responsibility for the magistrates and interns from the prosecutor’s office.
Under Wagner’s plan, the traffic court would be designated as a proof or plea court in which more cases would be heard and the magistrates and interns would handle minor situations such as speeding tickets, expired license plates and bounced checks.
“We need to look at ways to make it more efficient,” Wagner said. “One way I’d like to do that is look into a greater use of the magistrates. Those types of cases a magistrate can handle, or even utilize interns from the prosecutor’s office. An intern and a magistrate can certainly resolve a speeding case. Divert those cases away from the judges’ docket and away from a trial docket because they cost the city money and time.”
Wagner will join the six other judges in Toledo Municipal Court on Jan. 4.
“I hope to fit in well and get along with all the judges there to improve the courthouse for us, the employees and everybody,” Wagner said.

Frostbite, hypothermia, power outages and snow emergency levels were among the topics addressed by local weatherman “Blizzard Bill” Spencer during a recent Ready U presentation about winter weather safety.
13abc’s meteorologist told the group of area residents gathered Nov. 14 at the Main Library for the free, hour-long program that this winter was likely to start slow, but pack a wallop early next year.
“We’re probably not going to see a lot of snow in November and probably not much in December either,” Spencer said. “It’s really going to kick in, like last year, right after the holidays, especially the middle of January, that six- to eight-week period where we had a whole winter’s worth, a record amount of snow. I think that could happen again. There are indications of a very active storm track. We just have to be ready.”
The best way to protect yourself during winter weather is to think ahead and use common sense, Spencer said.
“Always think ahead to the worse scenario and you should be fine,” Spencer said.
Emergency supplies
Put emergency supplies in your vehicle and make sure to keep the gas tank at least half full to prevent the fuel line from freezing. Always have a cell phone and car charger with you.
If you get stranded, remain inside the vehicle. Tie a red scarf to the antenna so your vehicle can be seen by tow trucks and snow plows. Keep windows slightly ajar and run the car’s heater 10 to 15 minutes per hour. Make sure the exhaust pipe is clear.
“Don’t set out walking unless you see a building because you could lose your way,” said Spencer, adding that distance can also be distorted by blowing snow. “You could be 30 feet from your car and not even know it and freeze to death.”
If you do leave the vehicle, consider tying a roll of twine to your vehicle so you can find your way back, Spencer said.
When a winter storm watch is declared, it’s a good idea to stock up on food and supplies — but stick to nonperishable food so it won’t go to waste if the storm doesn’t happen or if there’s a power outage, Spencer said. If purchasing canned foods, make sure you have a manual can opener.
A watch means winter storm conditions are possible within the next 36 -48 hours and residents are advised to review emergency plans and monitor local weather reports. A warning means life-threatening conditions have already begun or will begin within 24 hours and residents should take precautions immediately.
If power is lost, turn off or disconnect all appliances, so there’s not a surge when the power comes back on. Leave one light on so you can tell when the power returns. Flashlights are safer than candles. Eliminate unnecessary travel, since traffic lights may be out as well.
Food in an unopened refrigerator can last about four hours. Food in a full, unopened freezer can last up to 48 hours, or 24 hours in a half-full freezer.
“If the power outage is short-term, refrigerated food should be fine, but if it goes on for 24 hours, the food’s done. Toss it. Just get rid of it. Really play it safe. We don’t want anyone to get food poisoning,” Spencer said.
A level 1 snow emergency rating means motorists are urged to drive cautiously. Level 2 means motorists should use extreme caution and should drive only if necessary. Level 3 means roads are closed to all motorists except essential emergency personnel and other drivers may be subject to arrest. If your job may require you to drive during a level 3 emergency, consider asking your employer for a letter in case you get pulled over, Spencer said.
The best winter outfit consists of warm, loose-fitting clothing in several layers, including a hat and gloves.
Never use a generator, grill, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning device inside the home, including a garage, basement or any enclosed area. When using such devices outdoors, make sure they are located away from doors, windows and vents that would allow carbon monoxide inside the house.
“It’s amazing how fast levels can build and become dangerous,” said Tom Barnhizer, deputy director of Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, who was in attendance at the event.
Free carbon monoxide detectors were given to all attendees.
Ready U, a yearlong series presented by the Red Cross of Greater Toledo and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, is designed to educate the public and prepare individuals and families for potential emergencies in Northwest Ohio.
The next Ready U event, called “Planning Your Victory Garden,” is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Anderson Activity Room, 1833 S. Holland-Sylvania Road, in Maumee.
Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor of Ready U.
To learn more, visit the website www.ready-u.com.

While most organizations honor anniversaries with cake or a small reception, Imagination Station celebrated two years in business by going viral.
The staff at Imagination Station recorded a lip dub to the song “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby and posted it on YouTube on Oct. 10, the organization’s second anniversary.
“Before each of our demonstrations, we have music that plays,” said Anna Kolin, communications and public relations manager at Imagination Station. “One of our team members was out there and choreographed a dance to it. We started wondering if we could do it with the entire team. We started looking into it and saw lip dubs were growing in popularity, so we decided it would be a great way to celebrate our two-year anniversary.”
“She Blinded Me With Science” is one continuous shot around Imagination Station for four-and-a-half-minutes featuring lip synching and science experiments. The video also features 150 dancers from the Toledo School for the Arts.

Scene from Imagination Station lip dub.

“We have a partnership with the Toledo School for the Arts, so we’ll be doing a lot together over the next year,” Kolin said. “One of the things we wanted to make sure of was that throughout the video there was motion behind us. That’s what science is. We kept thinking of it like the nucleus of an atom. Everything is moving and twirling at the same time. We wanted to make sure that even if it was focused on one person, behind them there was always something going on. We’re obviously not dancers. We’re scientists. They jumped on the opportunity.”
With so many moving parts and no cuts, the group did three takes.
“The science experiments are unique for lip dubs,” Kolin said. “It was good when everything worked. That’s why we didn’t use our third take, because something didn’t go off. Science is not necessarily a precise thing, it’s a practice. We can’t always control it. On the second take it went well for the most part. A couple balloons didn’t go off or something might have been delayed, but it still emphasized what we do here.”
It may have only required three takes, but there was much more time spent preparing for the video. According to Kolin, former intern Erin Geer put more time into the planning than anyone else and was credited as the director.
“It took a lot of planning,” Kolin said. “There were a number of different people involved in it. It started off as a team building activity. Each department does a team building exercise each month for our big team meeting. The lip dub was going to be ours. It started off small, then we added the Toledo School for the Arts dancers and it grew to be something much bigger.”
Kolin appears at the 0:48 mark of the video, wearing black clothes and a cowboy hat. The video can be viewed at YouTube.com/ImaginationStationOH.
“We’d love for it to go viral so we can showcase what we do here and how much fun it is to be a part of it,” Kolin said. “It’s been getting quite a few hits, but we’re anxious for it to move even further.”

This may come as news to some, but we’re not operating in a global market — at least not anymore. That’s what investors ought to be telling themselves if they expect to be profitable for the next 10-15 years.
Many investors today are sitting on portfolios with a substantial amount of foreign currency risk. Most are completely unaware of the fact, and even fewer understand it.
During the past 25 years, the dollar has gone through a prolonged and substantial decline in value versus other global currencies. Today’s dollar is worth only a fraction of its nearest peak under Reagan in the mid-1980s.

As this story has become popularized, much of the investing public has piled into traditional dollar hedges including foreign stocks, oil and gold, many of which have soared to all-time highs in recent years. (Note: Not all investors have made money riding this wave; look no further than clients who got fleeced buying gold bullion through Goldline, the dealer touted by Glenn Beck and others. We tried to warn them, but no one wanted to listen.)
The problem is that, unbeknownst to many, the U.S. dollar actually put in a significant bottom almost three years ago. This bottom is likely to be the end of a 20-year plus bear market in the dollar and the reversal of fortunes for many who have placed substantial bets against its value.
Here’s the rub: The next 10 years will almost surely not be a time to invest in foreign markets or otherwise bet against the U.S. dollar. If the dollar continues to rally, which seems highly likely, any gains made from investing in foreign companies will be almost or entirely wiped out by fluctuations in the currency markets.
And that’s not all.
The past couple of decades have seen the emergence of so-called frontier markets, so-called because they are in countries that resemble emerging markets but are thought to be even earlier in their “emergence” phase. Markets in off-the-radar countries like Bahrain, Bangladesh, Lithuania, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have seen tremendous surges in popularity as foreign investors have gone searching for the next BRIC nations.
What many will find is that these countries don’t have markets, they have gambling pits. The people there are more than willing to welcome foreign investors and help them buy anything in sight; but once those foreigners (i.e., Americans) try to cash in, there won’t be a buyer in sight.
Remember that age-old lesson — we’ve written about it before — an investment is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. A lot of investors are going to learn this lesson the hard — and expensive — way.
What is most frustrating about the state in which many investors find themselves is that it is through no fault of their own. The concepts discussed here are not simple or easy to understand; they are the kinds of things that investors pay advisers to help guide them through.
Unfortunately, many trusted advisers have done their clients a tremendous disservice by continuing to push clients into anti-dollar positions. Advisers should be well aware of the downfall of the dollar since 1985 and have the foresight to understand that it will be turning up — and know how to help their clients take advantage.
Sadly, this is rarely how things work in the financial services industry. Very few advisers spend their time doing the research to understand these issues any more than their clients do. After all, it’s infinitely easier to show a client a mountain chart of a foreign fund or gold during the past 15-20 years and convince them to buy as opposed to pushing a downtrodden domestic fund that hasn’t made a dime over the past decade.
Now we find ourselves having arrived at age-old lesson No. 2, again one we have written about time and again: Investing with hindsight is never a good idea.
Investing with a perspective confined to history can be equated to driving but using only rearview mirrors to steer — it works just fine until the road curves. And that’s exactly what has happened; the road has curved. Those investments that have done well during the past decade or two surely won’t do as well in the next 10 to 20 years. After all, economic conditions today are completely different. The conditions that resulted in gains for anti-dollar investments no longer exist — so why would the results be the same?

Dock David Treece is a discretionary money manager with Treece Investment Advisory Corp (www.TreeceInvestments.com) and is licensed with FINRA through Treece Financial Services Corp. He has appeared on CNBC and numerous radio programs, and also serves as editor of financial news site Green Faucet (www.GreenFaucet.com). The above information is the express opinion of Dock David Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

Men in the Toledo area can walk into V Concept and walk out groomed,  relaxed and dressed in designer clothing from around the world.
Valentine Ononye, owner and shopkeeper of locations in Perrysburg and Sylvania, wants residents to see his selection and know they can purchase affordable, quality clothing. He is confident that he can sell “luxury for hometown prices” to those who are progressing with their careers.
Ononye is a reflection of what V Concept, 5630 N. Main St. in Sylvania, offers. Dressed in a dark button-up dress shirt and designer suit, he wears the latest fashions he sells in the store. He accessorizes with a belt and socks that complement the rest of his wardrobe. Ononye’s clothing fits perfectly and he wants men to have that same comfort. As a confident businessman, he is enthusiastic about helping every client dress as a professional.
“You won’t find men wearing jeans and sneakers to work,” he said. “It’s important that what you buy is the best so you can wear it over and over again.”

Valentine Ononye

His shelves are lined with handmade clothing created by world-class designers like Armani, Versace, Ben Sherman, Canali, Mirto, Pal Zileri and Lacoste. Suits, ties, shirts and more are available in a variety of colors, and Ononye monitors the latest fashion trends.
He said paisleys are a returning fashion trend, especially independent paisley, as seen on a white shirt in his store with random paisley print floating across it. Ononye said he is happy to offer men a variety so they don’t feel like they have to dress similarly every day.
V Concept is an outlet of V Couture at 123 N. Indiana Ave. in Perrysburg, which Ononye said caters to “men of discriminating taste who are value conscious.” Ononye sells clothing from V Couture for 25-50 percent off at V Concept.
“Three of my passions are business, style and people,” he said. “We do our best work to make sure clients look good, feel good and stand out.”
Ononye has traveled the world and visited fashion houses in New York, Japan, Italy, France and elsewhere. Collections are bought one year in advance, and he recently visited the Versace showroom for next fall. He said he wants to bring in world-class designers with quality products that are not available anywhere else in this area.
Grand opening
The grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was Nov. 11. Ononye and Heidi Joy, store manager of V Concept,  said the store provides “the whole range” so clients can build a complete wardrobe, including belts, socks, shoes and even shaving cream and cologne. She has worked with Ononye since the grand opening of V Couture, and she was as excited about the new store as Ononye.
“We believe it’s imperative for us to showcase what we’re selling in an excellent environment,” Ononye said.
After walking through the entrance, a men’s grooming center is on the right, providing services such as haircuts, hot towel shaves and facials. Next to the grooming center is a lounge area where customers can watch television, or children can play video games.
“We want to provide all types of services and differentiate ourselves from other [businesses],” he said.
Ononye said when buying a handmade suit, customers are paying for the finest material, workmanship and longevity.  Clients can be measured to have their clothing tailored for that perfect fit, and there is a multitude of clothing that can be bought from the rack.
He shows clients they are purchasing fine clothing by folding an Armani suit into a small bundle, then unfolding it to show that it will not wrinkle. He tells clients that a suit is worth purchasing because a father could potentially hand down the clothing to a son.
“We aren’t just building a store, but building a lifestyle,” Ononye said. “If someone wants to look a certain way, this is the best place to shop. With the downturn of the economy, it’s become even more important for men to dress better to be competitive.”
Joy said the past nine months have been filled with intense collaboration with those working on the store’s design. Ononye’s wife designed the space, and local architects and engineering firms provided the renderings.
V Concept is 1,444 square feet and about half the size of V Couture. Ononye said renting the space in Sylvania is expensive, like paying for a five-bedroom house up front.
“The designers want the store to fit in with the area yet stand out from others,” Joy said. “Valentine wants to come out with the best right off the bat.”
World-class city
Ononye said he chose Sylvania as the location for the outlet store because he considers it a “world-class city,” and the city, residents and local businesses have been welcoming.
“It took us a while to get everything together, but local merchants and even City Council have given us support,” he said. “I’m very excited to be part of the community.”
V Couture, located at Perrys Landing Shopping Center in Perrysburg, offers made-to-measure clothing and services such as wardrobe consultation and personal shopping.  Ononye shows men what’s new, in season, and how to color coordinate.
“I’ve seen a lot of men wear blue shirts,” he said. “Men don’t mind wearing blue almost every day because they’ve done it their whole life. But at V Concept we can cater to skin tone, body shape and career.”
Ononye said regular clients are from Perrysburg and Sylvania, but the store also brings in customers from southeast Michigan, Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland. Also, he has customers from New York, California, London and Norway, who have purchased orders online. He said a goal is to continue to utilize social media in order to engage and interact with clients on a regular basis.
Future plans are to offer women’s and children’s clothing, plus open additional locations in other cities.
“What we are doing is educating people,” he said. “It excites the customers and makes them feel confident in what they are wearing.”