On this day of gluttonous days, I just want to take the time out to wish everyone one of you a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  May you enjoy this day with family and friends and festivities with a happy heart and an empty stomach…because it’s time to EAT BABY!

So from me and mine to you and yours, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Eat, drink and be merry Atlanta, life is good AND full. 

                        written in the shortest-hand w/ the most sincere message:

     Other than breathing, DRIVING is the most important thing U do everyday!!!  1 mistake can cause major inconvenience, headache or even worse, so as rushed as things R this holiday weekend w/ family & friends - shopping, socializing, patronizing, etc. - PLEASE B safe Bhind the wheel!!!  The day B4 Thanksgiving is 1 of the busiest travel days on the highways & w/ gas prices actually bearable now, nobody’s flying. 

       Typical traffic patterns from years past indicate highway congestion starting as early as 1pm, as opposed 2 the typical 3:30 or 4 pm afternoon rushhour!!!  Of course everyone else plans 2 get out of work early & start thinking turkey ASAP also.  There will B serious delays of the interstates all weekend so plan ahead!  Now I’m gonna leave U w/ a token of good news from friends over @ the Georgia DOT…..all construction related lane closures on interstates & major highways have been suspended until after Midnite, Sunday Nov. 30th.  Happy Holidays & DRIVE DEFENSIVE!!!

Yeah, I said slobberknocker. Don’t ask me where I got it, I just thought it was pertinent to the game last night between our Dirty Birds and the Panthers. 45-28?! Really? Ouch. Nice job proving you’re top of the division Carolina. Looks like the Falcons are ready to take that spot and keep it. I’ll admit, watching the NFC South has been downright exciting. No matter what division game is on, it’s always a hell of a contest.

Here’s how the NFC South fairs today.

Carolina (8-3)

Tampa Bay (8-3)

Atlanta (7-4)

New Orleans (5-5)*

*Saints play the Packers tonight in MNF, so we could see a 6-5 team or a 5-6 team, we’ll find out in less than 12 hours.

Two words…GO FALCONS!

On a side note…the new Killers album drops tomorrow and it’s AWESOME! How do I know? I’m a Victim (it’s the fan club for The Killers); I’m also a huge dork and borderline stalker.

On ANOTHER side note (my ADD is kicking in), I’ve been really digging this Australian band called Eskimo Joe. Whether or not we play them on the station is another story, but they are pretty good. Three albums out and they’ve pretty much won all there is in AU and in NZ.

This is New York, its from their latest album Black Fingernails, Red Wine. You’ll like it although the video is JUST a tad like Coldplay’s The Scientist.

Enjoy and keep rockin’ Atlanta, life is good.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

So a few days ago I wrote about a rabbit named Woolly whose owners had built him wheels to support his legs after a seizure took the use of them away. That in and of itself is a heartwarming story to see an owner’s love for their animal.

But THIS story had me flabbergasted. Modern medicine has come a long way since Hippocrates was deemed the Father of Modern Medicine, through Gabriele Falloppio, William Harvey and through the modern age of medicine starting with Robert Koch and the thousands of physicians, etc. who came before and after them. Not only do we owe them a debt of gratitude, but we should always remember the sacrifices they, and we, have made to find these advances and bring them to fruition.

Which brings me to my point.

It’s a story about 14 year old D’Zhana Simmons, who hails from our neighbor state South Carolina. Unfortunately, doctors found out that D’Zhana had an enlarged heart, called cardiomyopathy. Her first transplant took place on July 2nd but wasn’t functioning properly. Not risking the chance of the heart to rupture, they removed it while they looked for a second heart. Here’s where it gets mind-blowing. For 118 days, D’Zhana lived WITHOUT a heart. The good doctors at Holtz’s Children’s Hospital in Miami placed her on a ventricular assist device which they modified. VADs are used during heart operations to keep the heart beating or keep the blood flowing while they remove or repair the heart. In this case, D’Zhana was hooked up to it for 4 months.

It wasn’t easy during this time considering there were a couple of times she was put on breathing machines, she suffered from kidney and liver failure and gastrointestinal bleeding. But this strong willed teenager pulled it out and miraculously has a new heart. She’s on immunosuppressors for the rest of her life (so her body doesn’t reject the heart) and is looking to pull through. Granted, there is a 50% chance she might need another heart at 30, the fact still remains that she survived through the whole ordeal.

She is currently at the Ronald McDonald House for a few months of rehab. She turns 15 tomorrow.

Modern medicine, wow, Hippocrates would be proud. It’s the kind of thing that makes your brain hurt…but in a good way.

If you want the whole story, I found it on the New York Post’s website (blasphemy I know), but you can Google D’Zhana Simmons and it will pop up.

Keep rockin’ Atlanta, life is good. D’Zhana would attest to that, she has a new lease on it.

I’ll be off air for the next couple weeks. I have to take a bit of a leave but if my doctor gives the okay, I’ll be back on air with you on Monday 12/8.

Yvonne Monet and Renee will be covering my show while I’m gone, so you’ll be in good hands.

While I’m recuperating, I’ll be listening to lots of music and will have plenty of recommendations when I’m back!

So last night I had the privilege to be apart the annual Publix Holiday Fest at the Publix at Alpharetta Commons off of Statebridge Rd. It was a huge event and the best part…you can learn how to cook!

The Publix Apron’s Cooking School is located there and they teach you how to cook to the best of your ability. Some of us (me) can only burn things although I consider myself a decent cook. Baking…not so much, grilling…I’m the bomb.

But I digress…again.

All the information on the cooking schools can be found at www.publix.com/cookingschool. Did I mention that this is the only one in Georgia? Yeah, it is. Granted you could drive to Florida, but let’s stay home shall we? The link above has EVERYTHING on the cooking schools including a calendar of events, which celebrity chefs are teaching the classes, menus, etc. I’m telling you, you don’t want to miss it AND they fill up F-A-S-T.

So the next time you decide to make something and you’ve TAKEN the classes, you can thank me later…but more importantly, thank Publix Apron’s Cooking School. If it wasn’t for them, I’d probably be wearing my wok as a hat.

Oh yeah…I also met the dinosaur. SWEET!

Keep rockin’ and eating Atlanta, life is good.

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh great, another random post from Orff.”

My answer to you is yes, it is, but it’s a heart warming story. In a sea of garbage that’s on the Internet, it’s nice to see something like this to warm the cockles of your heart.

It’s about a rabbit named Woolly who had a seizure and lost the use of his back legs. His owners, being the animal lovers they are, built him wheels!! I mean, come on, how awesome is that? If you’ve seen the movie Norbit with Eddie Murphy, you know that the pug in the flick has wheels too.

Check this out.

I just think it’s nice to see people going out of their way due to the love and kindness that harbors itself in them to go ahead and make someone’s, or in this case something’s life a little better.

Give it a look and then come to me and say that THAT isn’t great. Share it with your friends and bring just a bit of happiness in their day. Seriously…it’s like if RoboCop was a rabbit…except Woolly isn’t packing heat and I don’t think there is another rabbit named Clarence Boddicker.

It’d be pretty cool if there was though.

Keep rockin’ it Atlanta, life is good.

Greetings fellow soldiers in the Orff Army. Thought I’d take this time to give you some fine tunes to check out if you have the time. If you love the music played on DaveFM (I know you do), then these shall whet your appetite quite nicely.

Editors - Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home

Eskimo Joe - New York

Killers - Sweet Talk

Mutemath - Noticed

Bloc Party - Ion Square

Arctic Monkeys - Flourescent Adolescent

Gomez - Getting Better

Guster - Demon Song

Snow Patrol - how To Be Dead

Incubus - Dig

The Bravery - An Honest Mistake

Elbow - One Day Like This

The Kooks - See The World

Little Yellow Perfect - Far Your Safety And The Safety Of Others

Now some of these songs are fairly new, while others come from TERRIFIC older albums that if you haven’t picked up, then go get them. I promise I won’t steer you wrong…well I would to Sully and Denzil, but not you.

Keep rockin’ it Atlanta, life is good.

Pajama pics coming later this week, I think the major labels are on board and Denzil will soon have a billboard in Times Square. HA HA HA HA!

Get the Flash Player to see this player.